Physical Encounter
by wolfpgirl
Summary: Bella is a college student who, of course, has an accident and now gets to go to physical therapy. What she finds there will change her life forever. All human traditional pairings, heavy on the BxE. College experiences aplenty! Sweet, romantic edward....
1. Chapter 1

**AN: usual disclaimers apply. I own nothing except the story idea. Everyone is human in this story. It is a mix of a day dream, my personal experiences and the twilight characters. Its AU and therefore maybe OOC. This is my first twilight story so I hope you enjoy. I did not major in English...so my spelling and grammer might suck! I am writing this just to write it, not to be graded. **

xxx Bella is a college student who, of course, had an accident and now had to go to physical therapy. What she finds there will change her life

*Clip* step *clip* step *

I still hadn't got used to the sound of my crutches on pavement. The metal kind made a lot more noise than the older wooden ones, but these were the ones I had since I fell, and they were comfortable. At least, as far as crutches go.

I never liked drawing attention to myself, and now everything marked me as something worth staring at, and not in a good way. You could hear me coming from a mile away. My neighbors still peek out their doors when I trudge up the three flights of stairs to my apartment. A person with crutches stood out, period. Most people only looked for a moment, but some stared out of curiosity at the brace running from my calf to my mid-thigh. I could practically hear their guesswork on what might have caused my current condition. And I hated it when people stared. I tried hard all my life to become unnoticeable. This whole process had been my personal hell.

Top it off with a constant almost unbearable amount of pain all the time and you have all the reasons not to tear the anterior cruciate ligament in your knee.

I reached the door of the physical therapy office and flushed as a kind looking elderly lady held the door open for me. I still haven't gotten used to people opening doors for me. In college, people tend to be in a hurry and never glanced back to see if the door they went through was going to hit anyone in the face. It suited me fine, that was just one more way of avoiding unnecessary attention.

I had been that way all my life, though I was better now than I was in high school. I was from a small town called Forks in the overcast state of Washington. I walked through those four years with my head down, hair shielding my face, dreaming of the day I would escape that gloomy place. My mom traveled the world with her new husband and left me with my father. Charlie was the police chief of Forks, and not such a bad guy. We had a quiet understanding that I was there long enough to graduate, then I was gone. He never gave me any grief about it. He actually helped move me out here to Raleigh, North Carolina and I pay him the occasional holiday visit.

I was in my third year at NC State University, and I absolutely loved it. College brought me out of my shell…mostly. I still kept to myself a lot, but I had gradually worked my way into my friends' lives. I moved in with my two best friends, Rosalie and Alice, into our very first apartment. They each had their pet projects with me. Rosalie would drag me to some local bars near the campus and to the occasional frat party. Most of the time, I had a lot of fun. Alice's passion was shopping. I went along with that reluctantly. Every now and then we would go to somewhere I approved of and we would have a blast! Most of the time she would drag me through malls after malls. I never had enough money to do the kind of shopping she thought was appropriate, but our apartment was very nicely furnished thanks to her. I loved them both.

After checking in for my first physical therapy visit, I carefully (but not gracefully) sat in one of the chairs in the small waiting area. The back of my thigh ached where it rested against the chair seat, my brace holding the leg out straight. I glared at the offending appendage. As many accidents as I have had in my life, this was the most frustrating. I never had to use crutches before and getting rid of them was my main motivation for coming to physical therapy.

As I waited for my name to be called I thought back to the moments that lead up to this. As much as I wished I could change things now, I knew that the trip had been one of the best times of my life. Before my accident, I was having a blast with my fellow classmates up in mountains of North Carolina on a class trip. However, a hospital visit can ruin that real quick.

_Flashback_

"_Bella!" Jessica was turned around on the lift in front of me, waving and smiling. I gave a little wave back, but couldn't return the smile. I discovered that downhill skiing was not that big of a deal when you kept to the side, out of people's way and didn't make too much of a fuss when you fell. Getting off the lift was another matter. Every time I rode to the top of the hill I dreaded the inevitable face-plant that waited for me. My cheeks burned in anticipation of the laughs that went along with it. Glad I could be a source of entertainment for my fellow classmates._

_I held my breath and watched Jessica glide smoothly off the lift and turned towards the slope. I counted down and slid off the chair, using its momentum to propel me forward. I let my breath whoosh out and grinned when I realized for the first time, I executed a perfect dismount! I slowly made my way next to Jessica, always wanting to be the last one down out of all my friends. Her boyfriend Mike stood next to her, "Let's go over the moguls again!" Jessica agreed immediately, "Yeah! That was kinda fun last time, wasn't it Bella?"_

_I just shrugged. I fell no matter what, so going over a few bumps only guaranteed the inevitable. We were all beginners, but our ski coach told us that the moguls were good practice for us, as long as we went slowly. The trip had been going on for three days, with two more days to go. It was for a gym credit…who knew that you cold take downhill skiing as a college course? My friends told me it would be an easy grade, basically if you showed up and had some sort of improvement from the first day then you passed. We had just all taken the test and by some miracle, we all passed. To celebrate, Jessica and Mike had talked me into doing one more trip down the hill before going out to a local bar. _

_As usual, I waited for them to start down the hill, giving them a good head start before I followed. No need to take them out with me when I crash and burn. I started over the first few bumps, and was really pleased with myself as I remained upright! My legs and butt were already sore enough from all the falls I had taken in the days before. I smiled and even laugh a little to see I was catching up with Jessica and Mike. Glee turned into panic when I flew right by them, unable to stop myself._

_I told myself to do the pizza wedge and tried to turn my legs to slow my speeding descent down the hill. I hit another mogul and my left ski got caught in the snow bump, trapping my lower leg while my upper leg and body twisted in another direction. I felt a huge pop from my leg and hit the snow hard, knocking the breath out of me. When I stopped sliding my head was facing downhill and my legs were uphill, skis still attached to my boots. When I took my first breath the pain came with it. Mike and Jessica stopped next to me and smiled, used to my clumsiness. Their faces paled as I started screaming. _

_Medics came and stabilized my leg, strapping me to a board and towing me down the hill on a sled while people stared from the lifts that I happen to crash under. At the time all I could think of was the pain, later the embarrassment made the whole experience even worse. _

_End flashback_

That day led to two more days in the motel on pain medication while my friends finished their ski trip. The hospital gave me my shiny new crutches and a few weeks later the orthopedic surgeon gave me a new knee and a huge black brace. They had taken out part of my hamstring to act as my new ACL, tacked it in with a few staples and a titanium pin. The surgery pain was worse than the injury. Not only did I have the pain from the actual repair done to my knee, but now there was a chunk of hamstring missing that made recovery even more fun.

My surgery was just three days ago. They gave me pain pills and continuous ice pack pump to strap to my knee pretty much all day. I haven't gone back to classes yet, dreading the brick walkways lining the campus about as much as I dreaded the three flights off stairs going to my apartment.

Finally they called me back where a perky blonde girl introduced herself as Stacy. "Hi Bella! Are you ready to get started with your first session?"

Like I had a choice.

I had pulled my long, dark hair back into a pony tail and wore gyms clothes in preparation. I had no idea what kind of stuff they were going to have me do, but I was dressing for comfort, not so much for style..which drives Alice crazy. I wore black cotton shorts underneath black nylon track pants. The pants buttoned up on the sides so they could be removed in a break-away fashion. My brace was underneath the pants, to try to keep the stares to a minimum. My old grey NCSU t-shirt completed my ensemble.

Stacy led me past various workout equipment to some padded tables lined against the far wall. There were only a handful of other people there, most of them partnered up with a trainer on one machine or another. I awkwardly climbed up onto a table that Stacy gestured to and she proceeded to explain how the process worked. I was going to do physical therapy at the facility at least twice a week and then there would be exercises I would be doing at home in between. "Today is going to be an easy day. I am going to check your range of motion and then we will do some basic therapy." She asked some questions about my pain level and any problems I was having.

She used an instrument that looked like a giant protractor to measure my range of motion. After removing my track pants and brace, I laid back on the bed and bent my knee until I felt the new ligament tightened in protest and the pain made me bite my lip. She then had me sit up to see how flat I could lay my leg against the table top. This I did better with, but still not perfect.

The bouncy physical therapist told me to leave the brace off and handed me my crutches. We slowly made our way to a stationary bike in the middle of the workout room. This was the first time I had moved around without my brace since the accident, and especially since the surgery. I felt naked, and a little unstable. Given my history of great falls, I had every reason to believe this might be a disaster.

But I arrived to the bike whole and gave Stacy a dubious look when she told me to get on the bike.

Expecting a little much, are we?

Ignoring my glower, she helped me onto the bike, "Don't worry! We will take it slow. Today you are just going to rock the pedals back and forth. Next time we will try for a whole rotation."

I put my feet on the pedals and tried moving them. It didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would and I gave her a nod when she told me to keep that up for about 15 minutes. "I'll come back to check on you in a few!" and she bounced away.

I stared at my feet for the first few minutes, watching them move the pedals back and forth. Who knew that such a simple thing would be such a challenge? I had to look up when I got dizzy at the repetitive motion. My eyes immediately locked on a young guy about my age at a machine a few feet in front of me. He was facing the side, so I only saw his profile, but that was all that it took.

He was the single most beautiful man I had ever seen. He was using on a machine that appeared to work the muscles in his arms and shoulders. His slightly pale skin had a fine sheet of sweat on it, and his golden eyes appeared locked on the wall in intense concentration as he finished his reps. He slowly dropped his arms and slumped a little, looking exhausted, and I could do nothing but stare at the way the light played with the unusual bronze colors of his hair. I didn't know whether the disarrayed style his hair was arranged in was on purpose or just a complete and wonderful mistake, but either way it was one more thing that took my breath away. His face was angled in all the right places, the features perfectly proportioned. My eyes froze on his lips for a moment, and then I sighed as I took in what I could see of his body. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt with black jogging pants, the plain clothes hanging perfectly on his slim frame. His arms were very muscular, and I almost fell off my bike when those muscles flexed as he rubbed his shoulder.

A male physical therapist stood next to him. I couldn't tear my focus away from the Greek god long enough to get a description of the trainer. He patted the man gently on the back, said something to him and gestured for him to proceed to one of the tables against the wall. I belatedly realized that during my extended pursuit of this beautiful person that I had ceased to do anything else. Stacy had walked up to me in concern, "Bella? Are you alright? Do you need a break?"

I turned to her, "Um, no. Sorry I can keep going."

She smiled and I resumed rocking the pedals on the bike. I looked back to where the young man was and sucked in my breath when I realized he was now staring at me. I blushed furiously, hoping that he hasn't noticed my complete hypocrisy when I stared him over earlier. He didn't smile. That seemed to make his gaze burn hotter into mine. I couldn't tell if he was irritated, curious, or something else. When a voice called out "Hey Edward! We're ready for you," he turned his gaze away and walked over to the table and the awaiting trainer.

My breath whooshed out and I pushed a pedal and little too far, wincing at the pull in my knee and the pain that came along with it. Resuming my rhythm, I worked very hard not to turn and look at the man I now knew was named Edward…and prayed my blush would go away at some point.

Ten minutes later, Stacy came to my bike again, "Alrighty Bella! We are done for today! That wasn't so bad, was it?" Her never-ending smile made me want to kick her in the knee…stick her on a bike and ask if it wasn't _that bad_.

However, I found it took most of my energy just to nod. Only 15 minutes of slow pedaling on the bike and I was sweating and exhausted. My knee throbbed, almost unbearable and I leaned heavily on Stacy as I slid off the bike and back onto my good ol' crutches. Shakily, I was led back towards the table I started out on. As I looked up I saw Edward walking towards me. He had one arm in a blue sling and a bag hanging off the other shoulder. His face was still about as pale as mine, but not as much as it had been when he was on the machine.

And he was staring at me again.

I had enough sense not to keep moving while I was locked into his golden gaze. That would be disastrous for sure. He had the most unusual color of eyes I had ever seen. Was there nothing else but perfect with this guy? I felt self conscious as he walked closer to me, holding my breath, already dazzled…and then he smiled.

My hands clenched on the crutches. It wasn't a full smile like what energetic Stacy sported…it was much more devastating. It was a crooked half smile, barely even noticeable, but it seemed to make my soul explode. I couldn't return the smile, I couldn't return something that spectacular. Nothing could! There wasn't anything in the world that compared to the beauty of him, with that soul burning smile.

He didn't stop, just kept his perfect strides and keeping his eyes locked onto mine until he passed me. I wondered what he smelled like…and then I remembered to breath. I thought I might have heard someone laugh lightly at me which made me believe that I had the world's dumbest look on my face. My face felt like it was on fire, but I slowly made my way to the table and sat down without incident.

The rest of the session was an icepack sent straight from heaven and instructions on what exercises to do at home. I half listened to perky Stacy's instructions. Mostly I was thinking about Edward. The euphoria I felt as we locked eyes was slowly fading away and replacing it was doubt. I was going over all the reasons why someone like me would never be anywhere in the same league with someone like him. I felt the weight of my plainness fall around me like a familiar old coat. We might as well have been different species.

Arriving home I trudged up the stairs…only catching my crutch on a step once. Inside my apartment I heard Alice's bell-like laugh and a male voice. _Jasper must be here. _My roommates had boyfriends that I considered to be the brothers I never had. I was extremely lucky to be friends with Rosalie and Alice _and_ get along with their boyfriends..who were practically living with us too.

Alice heard me clomping into the entry way and glided into the living room from the kitchen. "Hey Bella! How was therapy?" She smiled and took my bag from me. Her pixie styled hair was perfectly arranged, as usual. She was wearing a beautiful tunic blouse and leggings with a pair of flats, which reminded me of the utter casualness of my appearance. I gave her a grateful smile, "It was ok. I didn't do much today. Next time will probably suck though." I waved at Jasper, who was cooking something at the stove. He raised a spatula in greeting, messy blonde hair falling wildly around his face. This style worked for the sexy blonde Texan and it was the reason Alice said she fell in love with him.

I sank onto the comfortable chaise that was positioned next to the matching sofa. Rosalie came in from the other room with a pillow to put under my leg, God bless her.

"So, were there any cute trainers there?" she asked, always the matchmaker. I flushed slightly, glad that the living room was dimly lit, "Um..not that I noticed today." It was a half truth. I _didn't _notice any cute trainers…just one amazingly perfectly gorgeous man, who was a fellow patient.

They didn't need to know that.

Rosalie tilted her head to the side, her perfect, long blonde hair flowing over her shoulder. I squirmed under her suspicious gaze, but she didn't push the subject.

She moved over on the chaise to make room for Alice who had returned with my medication and some ice water. I thanked her and sank back against the chaise.

"So," Alice began, "You ready for one more I-told-you-so?"

I groaned, "I know! I know! Skiing was a dumb idea. I should have listened to you guys. I was not made for extreme sports."

"Bells, I am not even entirely sure you were made for a third floor apartment! I mean come on, stairs?" bellowed a voice from the entry way.

"Hey baby!" cried Rosalie and ran into the arms of her boyfriend, Emmett. Their public displays of affection were worse than Alice and Jasper's, and I automatically turned away to avoid their personal moment and hide my embarrassment at Emmett's comment.

Though, he was probably right.

Emmett sprawled out on the couch next to the chaise, although he barely fit on it. Rosalie perched on the end of the couch, still holding his hand. Emmett played football for NCSU, and he was built like a train. He was not over at the apartment as much as Jasper, since he always had one practice to go to or another. It was good to have everyone together for once.

"So was your therapy good today? I wish I could have got you into see the sports therapist guy that the team uses. He's great."

I inwardly winced. I have seen what Emmett considers to be a "light" workout and I could only imagine what the sports therapist of the football team would make me do.

"Thanks Emmett, but I think this place will work out pretty good. It's close to work and they seem like they know what they are doing."

Emmett nodded, "You gone back to work yet?"

I worked at a veterinary hospital a couple miles down the road. It's a low-paying job, but the people there are great and I get to work within my major. I recently decided that since I never got over fainting at the sight of blood, that veterinary medicine was not the career path for me. I still wanted to work with animals, but now I was double majoring Animal Science with Zoology, and still had not idea what I wanted to do after college.

"I go back next week. I need the money, but I need to get caught up with school more."

"You know, you can skip your portion of the bills this month. Rosalie and I have enough cash to cover it and that way you can spend more time recuperating." Alice chirped from beside me on the chaise.

We had this discussion before. I knew that they were probably right, but I was too like my father, I didn't take well to charity.

"I really appreciate it, but I need to get back into the swing of things. I've got it covered." I hope.

"Hey, ya'll wanna eat, don't ya?" Jasper called from the kitchen. Alice stood up and clapped her hands together in excitement, "Jasper made some of his famous chili and cornbread!"

The entire room moaned in appreciation. Jasper's chili was a thing of beauty. He didn't make it all the time, he said he didn't want to spoil us.

I reached for my crutches, but Emmett jumped off the couch and scooped me up off the chaise. I shrieked in surprise and he just let out a booming laugh. After he plopped me gently into a chair at the dining table, he planted a kiss on Rosalie and we all sat down to dig in. I looked around the table at the two couples, the four most important people in my life. I loved my family, but at the same time I felt like the kid sister who was always hanging around the "big kids". They never treated me like a fifth wheel, but I found myself thinking I should give them more space to be couples. I ignored the sad look in their eyes as I excused myself from movie night and shut the door to my bedroom.

I had the smallest room in the apartment on purpose. It was the cheapest and I didn't have a lot of stuff anyways. Rosalie and I shared a bathroom, but she had a bigger room with a bigger closet. Alice, of course, had the walk-in closet from hell and a massive private bathroom…but she could afford it. They both were very well-paid interns at a fashion designer company. Being textiles majors, they pretty much landed their dream jobs.

I sat in my folding chair in front of my second hand desk wincing as I tried to keep my leg from bumping into anything. As I waited for my PC to boot up, I looked around my room. None of my furniture matched, which suited me just fine. Everything I had was "comfortable" to me. Especially my bed. I had spent a whole summer's worth of extra cash to get the large queen size bed and I never regretted it. Apparently I move around a lot in my sleep, as well as talk, and I needed space to do that.

I check my email, getting nothing from my mother, as usual. I rarely hear from her. Sometimes, she forgets which college I am attending and that I am not in Forks anymore. It doesn't upset me anymore. That's just my mom.

I did get an email from my father. Charlie was still concerned that he should come to North Carolina to help me after the surgery. I responded, again, that it was not necessary but I appreciated the thought. I updated him on how things were going lately and then clicked send.

Pulling up my homework online was a necessary evil. It had piled up in the time I had been out of classes. I tapped my pencil on my notepad as I stared at the physics problem currently displayed on my screen. While I couldn't understand most of physics on a good day, I found my mind wandering very far tonight. I found my gaze focused on an ad for some sort of clothing flashing up in the corner of the screen. It featured a very attractive looking male model, smirking at the camera while wearing what I assume was the latest style of polo shirts. He looked nothing like Edward, but somehow my mind was flooded with images of him from today. I could clearly remember every glorious detail about him as if he was standing in front of me. I was imagining what it would feel like to run my fingers through his bronze colored hair when the pencil snapped in my tense grip. I blinked down at my hand and realized that I was breathing just as erratically as I had when I watched Edward walk by me this afternoon. I felt the heat on my face and was glad I was alone in my obsessive freak-out. This couldn't be healthy. I probably wouldn't see him again and I was just torturing myself by day dreaming about him.

Frustrated, I gave up on homework for the night. I was going to have to beg for a passing grade in this class anyway. Moving to the bed, I took my brace off, sighing at the relief that instantly brought. I wrapped a cold pack around my knee and turned on the pump that would be continuously moving cold water into it through the night. The sound actually soothed me and lulled me into a dazed-sleepy state. Pulling the covers over me, I tried earnestly to not think about Edward. I certainly did not need to hope that I would see him again the next time I had physical therapy….or hoping he was a student at State and I could possibly see him in the morning.

No, that wasn't healthy at all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Lots of alerts and favorites! Yay! Thanks to **Loulabelle **for the snazzy review! Hoepfully I will be able to keep this pace up and get my ideas down quickly for you!**

**Disclaimer…I own nothing. That's it. Nothing.**

Chapter 2

Of course I didn't see him the next day.

I made it through most of my classes without any problems, but by the end of the day I was clenching my teeth and shaking a little from the pain. I barely paid attention to my anthropology class and was relieved to escape back to my old red truck. One good thing about all this….handicap parking.

I got home and napped, more than disappointed that I hadn't glimpsed anyone that even slightly resembled Edward during the day and even more disappointed that I let myself get distracted by day-dreaming about him. After homework and a little social time with my roommates it was back to bed.

The next afternoon was my second physical therapy session. I was apprehensive about what exercises they would have me do today and, sadly, still slightly hopeful that Edward would be there.

What are the odds?

Apparently, pretty good.

I stood at in the waiting room, determined not to let my mouth hang open. I recognized Edward even though all I could see was the back of his head. No one else can pull off that messy/perfect hair style.

I was debating whether to be brave enough to sit in a chair near him or to cower in a corner like I usually would when a young man came into the waiting area from the training room. I vaguely recognized him as the physical therapist who was working with Edward a few days ago. His name tag read "Jacob". Not too bad on the eyes with darker skin and dark hair pulled back into a pony-tail…and I had to admit he had a killer smile. But he was no Edward.

Maybe I was ruined for life.

"Bella?" He asked looking at me. I nodded and smiled at him. "Ok great! My name is Jacob, come on back. Hey Edward, you can come back too."

I tensed in surprise. Edward swung his head around to look first at me, then at Jacob, then back at me. If I didn't know better, I thought he might look a little stunned. He stood while keeping his eyes on me and I flushed under the intensity of his stare. While it didn't make me completely comfortable, it was different than the stares that I had been avoiding all my life. I felt like he was heating my body from the inside out, just with his beautiful golden colored eyes.

He stood next to the door Jacob held open and gestured for me to continue first. I surged forward, trying to cover the fact I was standing frozen and staring at this magnificent creature. Of course in my haste I caught my crutch on the doorway frame and stumbled a bit. Jacob quickly steadied me by grabbing the crutches and holding them immobile while I righted myself. I burned with embarrassment, but was also amazed to see that Edward had his hand outstretched towards me, like he wanted to try to help me as well. He slowly pulled his hand back when I stood up straight, almost reluctant looking. I bravely brought my eyes up to meet his and almost stumbled again when I saw the smirk back on his face.

Beautiful.

"Bella? Did you jostle your knee a little?" Jacob asked, seeming amused by my clumsiness. This irritated me, but somehow not as much as the ever-perky Stacy had the other day. I preferred Jacob's way of lightening up an embarrassing situation. I am sure later on I will be able to appreciate the humor in all this. But for now I just concentrated on not repeating that performance.

"Yeah, a little." I admitted. "Its ok, I do that a lot." That made both men smile even more.

Great.

Jacob looked back at the two of us as we followed him to the tables in the back. I was calculating each movement I made, very aware of Edward's burning gaze from behind me. For the first time, I wish I would have listed to Alice and changed clothes for this session. I had simple red NCSU gym shorts and a plain gray t-shirt on. My hair was pulled back in a braid, no sense on styling it for a workout. Alice hadn't agreed.

After sitting us on tables next to each other, Jacob addressed both of us, "Alright guys, here's the deal. We are down a person or two today so we are having to double up on patients. I will be working with both of you today, is that okay?"

I looked to Edward first, though I am not sure why. He glanced back at me briefly before shrugging his good shoulder and nodding. I told Jacob that was fine by me.

Who was I kidding, that was fantastic!

Jacob said he was going to get some supplies and be back to take our measurements.

I looked down at my hands, trying to act casual even it felt like all my muscles would snap from the tension. It was both wonderful and terrifying to be that close to the object of your fantasies. I felt invisible and conspicuous at the same time.

Then, I heard his voice for the first time, and my muscles melted and my heart picked up double-time.

"Hello, I'm Edward. Looks like we will be partners today."

My head snapped up and I saw my favorite smile again. This time I shyly returned one of my own. He held out his right hand, the one not in a sling. I felt like I was dreaming as I reached out and placed my smaller one in his. "Bella," I said. "Nice to meet you."

After a moment, I realized he still held onto my hand. Our gazes were locked again, but the intensity had changed. Now that we were interacting, it seemed that we were both trying to figure the other out. It was like we were trying to read each other's life stories through our eyes. Jacob came back and we quickly dropped our hands. I almost frowned. Letting go of his hand didn't feel right. I was like someone took away my heavy blanket on a cold night.

"Ladies first, Bella. I need to check your range of motion again to see if there has been any improvement since last time. Could you lay back for me?"

I pulled my leg onto the table and began to take my brace off. The incisions from the surgery were no longer covered by bandages, and I was a little self conscious about the angry red marks that were left behind. I was told those would fade, but I never thought too much about them until I realized that Edward was watching me. I glanced at him briefly, but enough that Jacob noticed. He turned his back on Edward and asked in a low voice, "Would you like me to pull the curtain?"

"No, that's okay," I said, maybe a little too quickly. Jacob nodded and took my brace from me. I laid back and took a deep breath in anticipation. This was probably going to hurt more than last time since I was obviously meant to make some sort of progress in my range of motion. I looked over at Edward and he seemed to realize my trepidation.

"So, what are you in for?" he asked with another smirk. I smiled wryly back at him, "ACL replacement. Apparently I am not made for downhill skiing. You?"

He gestured to his shoulder. "Rotator cuff. I tore it playing baseball. They are trying to keep me from having surgery if it's not necessary."

"Yeah I don't recommend it as an elective," I sourly told him. He chuckled at that, and I almost forgot where I was, who I was! It was a musical sound. I was brought back to reality by Jacob asking me to try to bend my leg as far as I could. I took a breath and started sliding my foot back, Edward idling chatting about the game he was playing when he messed up his shoulder. When I stopped my leg Jacob looked at the measurements. "Is that as far as you can go? It's not any better than last time."

I gripped the sides of the table and bit my lip, willing my knee not to split open as I pulled it back a fraction of an inch further. Jacob gave a bright smile, "MUCH better Bella! I knew you had it in you!"

I relaxed my leg and gave a dry chuckle. I have a feeling Jacob was one of those people who pushed you to your limits. Not good for me.

I straightened my leg out as much as I could on the table and Jacob said I was improving a little there as well. That didn't hurt as much and I felt like sticking my tongue out at him when he back was turned. I almost jumped when Edwards cool fingers brush against the back of my hand, still clenched on the table. "You okay?"

I relaxed my fingers at his touch and smiled gratefully at him. "Yeah, thanks for talking to me. I hate that part."

He smiled and pulled his hand back. "Yeah I have been coming here for several weeks and I still hate this part."

Several weeks! And he was still in a sling? I was going to be here forever.

Jacob turned to Edward to get his measurements. I was caught up staring at the way his muscles moved under the tight black shirt and almost missed the small grimace he gave. I started talking to try to distract him, as he did for me.

"So, do you go to State?"

Edward smiled gratefully and his voice sounded a little strained as he answered. "Yes, I am a senior."

"What's your major?"

"Music."

This surprised me only a little, he did have that artistic look about him. He could also be easily mistaken for some sort of rock star with his haphazard hair and sexy stubble along his jaw. It also is one reason I have never seen him. Our majors don't exactly share a lot of classes.

He dropped his arm gratefully when Jacob was done. Apparently Edward had made enough improvement to satisfy him. Show off.  
"How about you?"

"I am a junior. I am double majoring in Animal Science and Zoology."

He raised his dark eyebrows, seeming impressed. "Wow, double majoring. Are you heading to veterinary school after undergrad?"

I wrinkled my nose, "I am not made for vet school. I would have to complete surgery rotations and I don't do so well with blood. I have no clue yet what I am going to do. I guess I might go to graduate school here if nothing has happened for me until then." This was the most I have talked about my uncertainty to anyone, even my roommates. I felt slightly ashamed at the looks people give me when I tell them I don't exactly have a "plan". But Edward's eye's dazzled me, and the words just flowed out easily. It was actually very cathartic and I didn't feel like he was judging me.

He looked like he had heard something like that before.

"I am sort of the same predicament. Music majors don't have a lot of options in careers, and I don't want to be a teacher, so I am hoping that I can compose enough pieces that are good enough to get me noticed, or I am going to have to pull a plan B out my…well, I will just have to have a plan B. At least you are still a junior. I am graduating in the fall!"

I giggled at him and he smiled brightly back at me. It felt good to relate to someone who didn't have their life planned out to the tiniest detail.

Jacob interrupted us and told me that I was back on the bike today. "I know you don't want to do this Bella, but you should try for a full rotation today. The secret is if you do a full rotation backwards it hurts a lot less that doing one forwards for the first time. The bad news is, the first time will hurt like hell. The good news is, after the first time it's a piece of cake."

I grimaced. Piece of cake, huh?

He turned to Edward, "Alright man, the circuit you did last time I want you to do again, except this time I am adding a little more weight to some of the machines. Do 5 minutes at each station." I think Edward may have grimaced a little as well.

I made my way over to the bike and Jacob took my crutches before moving over to set Edward up on one of the workout stations. It looked like all he had to do at that one was throw a small foam ball into a miniature basket. I glared down at the stationary bike I was on and wished I could switch with him. I kept up the rocking motion from the time before, feeling like I was pushing a little farther today.

After a few minutes Edward switched over to the machine I saw him at the first time. Jacob put an extra weight on the resistance and told Edward to try it out. Edward pulled his arms together slowly, grunting slightly as he did so. I heard Jacob ask is he could continue that for a few minutes and Edward nodded, jaw clenched. As much as I loved watching him work out, I felt bad that he was in obvious pain. Also, I felt determined. If he can go the extra mile, then so could I, right?

I looked down at my feet on the pedals and willed them to go further. I pedaled forward and almost reached the top of the circle before releasing my breath and letting it go backwards. This time I used the momentum to do a complete backwards rotation.

Stars blinked in front of my eyes. It felt like someone had stabbed a red hot screwdriver into my knee and popped the kneecap out. I didn't recognize the strangled cry that came out of my mouth. Vaguely, I heard the sound of weights dropping and heard someone coming over to me. I was breathing rapidly in and out, feeling like the pain was never going to end. I think I broke myself.

"Bella? Are you okay?" Jacob asked. Waving his hand in front of my fixed stare. I blinked, and my vision cleared a little as the tears started down my cheeks. I felt a cool hand wipe away my tears and turned to see Edward on the other side of me, his eyes wide with concern. Jacob was on my other side, "Did you do full rotation?"

I stared in front of me again, Edwards hand moved to rub my back reassuringly. It felt like such a familiar gesture, so comforting, and I would have loved to analyze that feeling further but I couldn't get my mind off the pain. I started to feel very light-headed as I breathed through clenched teeth and simply nodded at Jacob's question.

"Yeah, I know the first time sucks, but it will be much better next time. Do you need to stop for the day?" I nodded again. The tears stopped, but my breathing was still pretty erratic.

I felt weak and shaky as Jacob moved to help me off the bike. Apparently, I wasn't looking like I could handle crutches, so Jacob put his arm around my waist and tried to support me as we slowly headed back over to the table. The movement caused the thickening darkness around my eyes to take over and I slumped against Jacob. I felt another strong arm snake around from my other side and heard Jacob warning Edward, "Be careful with that shoulder."

"I've got this."

They pretty much carried me over to the table and I blinked up at Edward, who was hovering over me, searching my face. I wanted to reassure him that I was ok, but all I could manage was a wobbly smile. Nausea bubbled in my stomach and I prayed harder than I have ever prayed before that I would not lose my lunch in front of Edward.

Jacob came back with a cool cloth for my forehead and an icepack for my knee. I don't think anything felt as good before, until Edward took my hand. I felt instantly alert and the pain faded to a dim bother in the back of my mind. Jacob looked at our joined hands, "She's alright man, go finish your circuit."

Edward looked questionably at me. I gave him a stronger smile and nodded, "Its okay, I'm better now." It felt only natural to squeeze his hand. He smiled slightly in return, and didn't take his intense gaze off of my eyes as he leaned down to brush his lips lightly across the back of the hand he held. My stomach clenched and I felt a whole different kind of faint.

Holy crow.

Jacob was chatting with me as Edward left and sympathetically smiled at me, "Sorry Bella, that was a necessary evil. Next time will be much easier I promise. That was probably the hardest part of the whole process."

I let out a breath, "God, I hope so."

After a few minutes, Edward came back over to the table next to mine, looking tired and slightly pale. I was sitting up at that point and looked him over in concern, "Are _you_ alright?"

He ran his hand through his adorable hair and sighed, "Yeah, that was just a little harder than last time. I think I will be feeling it later tonight." He smiled wryly at me.

I felt guilt wash over me, "You didn't hurt yourself when you helped me? I'm so sorry!"

He waved off my apology, "No, I didn't use my bad arm. There was just more weights on today and I have to get adjusted to that. You probably weigh less than those weights anyways." He narrowed his eyes at me, and I heated underneath his scrutinizing gaze. "Do you have any plans after this? Would you like to get a bite to eat with me?"

"Sure." I answered a little too quickly. I didn't even think about any plans I might have had, I would have cancelled everything to spend more time with this gorgeous creature.

Edward smiled and nodded once, apparently satisfied at my quick response. Jacob came over and gave Edward an ice pack and I waited patiently for him to finish. I could have stayed there and stared all day. He was wearing all black today, which made his topaz eyes stand out and his hair glow. His pale skin was covered slightly with stubble and it gave him an overall endearing, rumpled appearance. He laid back on the table with his cold pack and smiled over at me, "So, where are you from?"

This started a whole line of questioning. We swapped facts about each other that continued on to the short walk to the O'charley's restaurant near the physical therapy building. I was wishing I wore something other than my gyms clothes, but Edward didn't change out of his workout attire either, so I felt a little less self conscious.

Edward was from Seattle, so we had the west coast in common. He talked about his family. He was also an only child, but his parents were still happily married. He asked about my parents and looked at me sympathetically when I told him they had been divorced for a while now and that I never heard from my mom anymore. He laughed when I told him about my dad, the police chief, and our very awkward understanding of each other.

We both ordered a light dinner and drank cokes. I felt fortified by the caffeine and energized by the flirtatious banter. I still knew I was balancing my hopes on a relationship that could never happen. I learned my lesson in the past about looking too much into a guy's attention. I always got the "we're just friends, we are just having fun" line. I knew my place. Men flirt, but that doesn't mean that they are attracted to me. I was afraid I read too much into a guy's actions and it turned out that it really _wasn't_ flirting…that it was all in my head.

But Edward was good company. He made me laugh more than I had in a long time and the way his eyes twinkled when he laughed with me stopped my breath. I had a hard time concentrating on the food in front of me, but Edward would stop what he was saying and would gesture to my plate, "Bella, eat!" I would scoop a forkful of something that I didn't even taste and wait for him to continue.

Despite my protest, he paid for both of us. I scowled at him and he just winked at me, "You can get it next time."

Next time? Oh boy.

He walked me back to my truck and helped my get my crutches into the back. I was already pretty graceless when getting into the vehicle with my bum leg, but Edward's presence made me even more nervous. He just chuckled when I knocked my head on the door frame and sat heavily down on the seat. I glared at him, but he ruined my pout when he gently placed his hand over the bump on the top of my head. He quieted, but still smiled slightly as his hand moved from my head to cup the side of my face. His thumb rubbed gently across my cheek bone and I turned slightly into his palm. He sighed when I closed my eyes and slowly dropped his hand. My eyes snapped open and I saw him step back, gently shutting my door. "Goodnight, Bella. I will see you soon."

I just nodded dumbly and watched him walk away towards a silver Volvo. I snapped out of my daze and started the ancient truck. The roar of the engine seemed quick compared to the pounding of my heart. Somehow I made it out into traffic and towards the apartment without even realizing I had started driving. My next physical therapy appointment was not until Monday morning, as was Edwards. Three days! It was going to be a long weekend.


	3. Chapter 3

**Holy crow! Lol there are a lot of people out there tagging my story! The pressure is on! **

**Thanks to those who took the time to review…you guys rock. A question about Jacob's age in this story: I guess he is around their age or slightly older. I haven't really thought about it. I always thought of him as older than the Twilight books recorded him being because he was always described as being so big! So I guess make him as old as you want! Lol**

**Disclaimer…still own nothing. Except I still have that brace somewhere….**

Chapter 3

The weekend took forever to pass…mostly because I was being interrogated the entire weekend. As soon as I stumbled into the apartment after my dinner with Edward, Alice took my bag from me and Rosalie ordered Emmett to pick me up and put me on the couch. Jasper proceeded to take my crutches away and he and Emmett walked out of the living room, sending apologetic glances at me.

I sat stunned, opened mouthed in shock! Rosalie and Alice sat on either side of me and just crossed their perfectly clad legs and waited for me to quit sputtering. When it looked like nothing intelligent was going to come out of my mouth, they both sighed.

"Bella…." Alice began.

"Who is he?" Rosalie finished for her.

I stared back and forth between the two girls. "How did you know…."

"Ha!" Alice chirped. "Told you Rosie! You owe me a new pair of shoes."

I started stammering again when they laughed, realizing that only _now_ did they know something was up. Rosalie explained, "Okay, we were on the balcony when you pulled up and I don't know if you realize it or not but you were grinning like a moron! Alice guessed that you met someone, I was guessing you passed your physics make-up exam."

My shoulders slumped in defeat. I don't think the exam went well…and I can keep nothing to myself around here. I didn't try to deny anything. Apparently I am the world's worst liar.

"Well…there is this one guy…" I began.

"Tell us all about him!" Alice squeaked. "Where did you meet him? Is he in your class? How long have you been seeing him?"

Rosalie cut her off, "Alice! Let her talk!"

Alice pursed her lips together and waited for me with excited eyes. I bit my lip.

"He goes to the same physical therapy place as me."

Alice opened her mouth, but Rosalie gave her a glare before she could interrupt.

I continued, "His name is Edward. He hurt his shoulder playing baseball. He's a music major. And.."

I hesitated.

This time it was Rosalie who became impatient, "And?"

I sighed and sank back against the couch. "And…he is the most beautiful person I have ever met." My voice sounded glum, even to me.

The girls leaned back with me, each with an arm around my shoulders. Alice's laugh tinkled next to me, "And this is a bad thing….why?"

I gestured impatiently with my hands. "Because I am me. And he is him. And I am already so attracted to him. And it's going to hurt like hell when he walks away."

"Oh honey, why do you think he would walk away from you? Is he arrogant? Was he a jerk to you?" Rosalie's voice started rising with her temper.

All the sudden Emmett's voice boomed out from the next room, "I'll beat the crap out of him Bella!"

There was a smacking sound, probably Jasper's hand slamming over Emmett's mouth.

Alice and Rosalie laughed at their obvious eavesdropping, but I just flushed like crazy in embarrassment.

But I had to defend Edward's honor. "No, he was…wonderful. Perfect. He is so caring and gentle and funny. He's so attentive and nice and he makes me laugh…" I could have kept going, but never fully describe how wonderful Edward was, and my feelings for him.

The words haven't been invented yet.

Alice held up a hand, "Hold on girl. How long have you been seeing this guy?"

I smiled wryly, "I am not exactly 'seeing' him," I used air quotes with my fingers, "we met in physical therapy and he helped take my mind off of it. Then he sort of took me out to dinner afterwards tonight."

At their incredulous look, I sighed. "I know! It's just one time. I am trying real hard to stay grounded to reality. But you know how I am. I am probably reading too much into something little. He probably feels sorry for me or something."

Rosalie scoffed, "Bella, we have told you time and time again that you don't see yourself clearly, and you definitely don't give yourself enough credit. You are beautiful.."

"….and smart." Alice chimed in.

"And the kindest person…"

"…and again, totally hot.."

"Ok stop!" I held up my hands in protest. "You guys are the best friends a girl could have, really. But you weren't there. You know I can read too much into a guy's words and actions."

Rosalie and Alice shared a look over my head.

"You're right Bella…" Alice said slyly.

"We will just have to meet him." Rosalie finished brightly.

I jumped up onto my good leg, instinctively making a run for it. Before I could do something stupid like try to walk without crutches, they grabbed my hands and pulled me gently back on the couch between them. I shook my head vehemently.

"Hear us out before you protest. Are you supposed to see this Edward guy again?"

I shrugged, "He made his next PT appointment at the same time as mine on Monday morning."

Rosalie gasped, "Bella! That's a big deal! The guy is scheduling his day around you!"

I cut her off, "I don't want to get my hopes up, please!"

"Well then do what we say and we will have an answer for you by Monday night. When you see him, casually mention that your roommates are having dinner and game night that night and you were hoping he could come over and even out the numbers in the group."

I cocked my head to the side in thought. That could work. It's something that even casual friends would do, so it wouldn't seem weird.

"Here's the catch though," Rosalie continued, "Alice and I will be watching every move he makes. You know we can read people very well, especially Alice. We will be able to tell if he is really smitten with you, or if he is just a nice guy who can make friends really easily. This also means we will be trying our best to distract him."

"Distract him?" I squeaked.

Alice nodded resolutely, "Yes, we will be batting eyelashes, casually bumping up against him….a very subtle level of flirting."

I snorted, "How in the hell is that supposed to help _me_?"  
Alice touched my shoulder. "You want to know what he feels towards you, right?"

I nodded.

"Well we will see if he can be easily distracted with a little flirting, and if he is in tune with only you, he will ignore us."

The planned sucked, but it was also brilliant. I cringed inwardly, already anticipating the reaction of Edward when pitted against the two most beautiful girls I know.

Not good.

But I needed answers.

"What about Emmett and Jasper…you remember your _boyfriends_, right?" I asked sharply. Alice and Rosalie both gave nonchalant shrugs, "We will explain to them how it's going to go, and they will go along it. Especially if it's to help you out."

I nodded in defeat at Rosalie, "Ok, I will ask him and go from there. But _please_ don't be all weird and embarrass me!"

I turned to Alice, "I never thought I would say this, but I need your help. Dress me for my physical therapy session on Monday."

I covered my ears at the shriek of pure joy that came from that tiny pixie girl. Was that a tear coming from her eye?

**Ok this was a short little filler, because quite honestly I am ready to get back to Edward. Thank you so much for all the response I have gotten from this story and especially to the reviews! I need encouragement to keep this pace up!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Man! I am on fire! Haha**

**Writing this makes me miss college like crazy..even the painful parts.**

21Skadoosh: **calm yourself haha! I love that you love it. And for you, I bring out the Bella Barbie.**

Chapter 4

Monday came eventually, and I groaned at the knock on my door early that morning.

Alice.

She kept me to my stupid, stupid request to play dress up for my appointment this morning. My physical therapy wasn't until 9:00, but Alice had class so here we are at 6:30am. She is going to need all the help she could get. It didn't surprise me when she opened the door that Rosalie was jumping up and down behind her.

"I am going to the gym now Bella, but I wanted to wish you and Alice good luck! Maybe, could you take a picture?"

"No!" I moaned in protest. "No pictures before noon. You know the rules."

Alice winked, "Yeah, we will save the pictures for dinner tonight."

More groaning from me and I was all set to go back to bed and forget the whole thing. This was sure to be a disaster.

The girls had other plans. "Oooooh Emmett!" Rosalie called.

Emmett walked in, wearing his football jersey and workout pants, ready for his morning practice. "I'm on it."

Apparently, they expected my lack of enthusiasm and I just rolled my eyes as I was carried into Alice's room full of makeup, hair supplies and endless wardrobe options.

I self-consciously tugged on the top that Alice squeezed me into. I had to admit, the outfit was a definite improvement over the ones I had been wearing. The tight polyester track pants were a dark blue with white stripes running down the side. I was still allowed to wear my white sneakers, but the t-shirt was out of the question in Alice's world. I now sported a matching navy blue top that fit snugly and was a cross between a tank top and a halter top. It had a built-in bra, so I didn't have to wear an extra one underneath it. I felt very exposed, reluctant to ever take off the navy blue cotton jacket I wore over my top.

It would be way too hot in the workout room with it on though. My hair was pulled back into some sort of stylish ponytail, with the ends of my hair curled slightly so that my ponytail seemed to bob up and down around my shoulders. Alice even insisted that I wear makeup! It wasn't much, just a couple of swipes of waterproof mascara and some lip gloss, but it was more than I thought was necessary for the gym. Alice made me swear on everything our friendship ever meant to each other that I would not change a thing after she left. I agreed. I can't deny her when she plays the BFF card.

I sat around, flipping through my notes from physics class. I had a meeting with the professor that afternoon, and I doubt it was because he personally wanted to pat me on the back for the stellar grade on my make-up exam.

I was very edgy, nervous and excited to see Edward again this morning. I knew that if he did come to dinner tonight, it would mean something huge for me. Either good huge, or bad huge, I just wanted to know either way before I started doing something crazy, like falling in love.

Who was I kidding. That ship had sailed long ago.

I glanced at the clock and grabbed my crutches. It was finally time to head out. One more trip to the bathroom to check Alice's work and I could go see Edward. As I moved into the bathroom I saw that the mirror was still steamed up from Alice's shower and I reached forward to wipe it clear. As I leaned my sneaker slipped on some moisture on the floor. My crutches went flying and my bad leg shot straight out as I grabbed the counter to catch my fall. It felt like something ripped up the back of my leg, and the pain that followed told me that it wasn't my pants that ripped.

My knee felt ok, but I was gasping at the pain in my weakened hamstring. Pulling upright, I held tears at bay and leaned shakily against the bathroom counter. After a moment, I realized the pain had mostly subsided, but it felt like my hamstring was nothing but a huge knot. I couldn't move my leg at all without bringing back the burning pain.

Carefully reaching for my fallen crutches, I took very slow steps out the door, down the steps and into my truck. This was the first time I was actually grateful to be heading to physical therapy for the medical help, and not just the scenery.

I arrived at the office, smiling to see Edward leaned against his Volvo waiting for me. He smiled in return and walked over to where I parked. I opened my door and he leaned towards me. "Good morning, Bella." His voice dripped over me like warm honey. Today he wore a light blue form-fitting t-shirt and dark blue sweat pants. His hair, as always, stuck out wildly in every direction, and somehow looked perfect.

"Good morning, Edward." I think I may have sighed when I said his name.

He took my crutches and held them while I maneuvered myself out of the truck. I sucked in my breath as the motion pulled on my already protesting hamstring.

Edward leaned the crutches against the truck and reached a hand out to steady me with. "What's wrong?"

"I slipped this morning," I forced myself to breath normally, "I think I did something to my hamstring."

Edward frowned at me. "Were your roommates there to help you?"

I shook my head, "They were gone. Its okay, it doesn't hurt that bad anymore and hopefully the trainers can work the kinks out."

"Do you have a cell phone?"

I blinked at his change of subject. I reached into my jacket pocket and showed him my ancient flip phone. He opened it up and began dialing something. "What are you doing?"

"I am saving my cell phone number in your phone. If anything like that happens again, call me, no matter what time it is. I don't want you to have to go through anything like that alone again." He almost seemed angry when he spoke.

I took the phone back after he was done. I didn't know what to say to that. I never had anyone act so protective of me, except for my roommates.

"Ummm, okay." That stammered statement sounded weak, even to my ears. He looked at me again and his gaze softened. "Do you think you can make it inside?"

I got my crutches situated under my arms, "Of course!" I said this with more confidence than I felt.

Edward requested that our therapy be coordinated together again today, and I agreed. When we got back to the tables, Jacob came up to us. "How are you guys feeling today?"

Edward spoke up before I could, "Bella slipped today. She is in pain." His tone of voice left nothing to the imagination. He practically looked at Jacob and said _Fix her!_

Jacob ignored his intensity and came over to me. "What happened when you fell?"

I pulled my brace off in preparation. "I didn't exactly fall. My left leg slipped on the bathroom floor and was extended in front of me when I started to fall. I caught myself on the counter before I could fall all the way." I may have sounded a little proud of myself, but hey…the fact I stopped a fall was a big deal to me! "My knee feels okay, but I felt something pull in my hamstring, maybe tear."

Edward seemed to growl next to me. I hadn't noticed at first, but he was sitting on the very edge of the table next to me, leaning in very close with his jaw clenched. It didn't escape Jacob's notice, however.

"Hey Edward, why don't you go ahead and start station one?"

Edward shook his head fractionally. "No."

That was it, one word and I felt my heart pounding right out of my chest. Oh yeah I needed answers big time.

Jacob asked me to roll on my stomach so he could feel for any knots on my hamstring. I had my head cradled on my hands, looking over at Edward. He reached over and placed one hand on my wrist, smiling slightly in encouragement.

Jacob pressed into my leg and I leaned up and gasped in pain. Edward let go of me in surprise and sent a glare at him. Jacob sighed, "Bella, you have a heck of a knot going on back here, and I need to massage it out. It's not going to be easy, but it will keep the damage to a minimum. Now, they used part of your hamstring tendon to replace your ACL, right?" I nodded, my teeth clenched. "Okay then, I am going to try to get to done as fast as possible but you need to hold still. When we are done you should probably take it easy for the rest of the day. Are you ready?"

I laid my head back down and faced Edward. He had moved to his knees beside the table and held his good hand out, palm up. I did not hesitate to grab his hand and squeezed tightly. I couldn't answer Jacob, but Edward turned to him and indicated for him to start.

As far as massages go, this was the worst on the planet. Jacob had to dig his thumbs deep into my leg. It felt like each touch was ripping something apart. I bit my lip and turned my face into the tabletop, holding my breath for as long as I could to keep from crying out. When I let my breath out, a small cry came with it.

"Hey, hey. Look at me Bella." Edwards soothing voice commanded me. I blinked tears out of my eyes and gasped as I turned my head back towards him. He moved the hand that still held mine to wipe the tears from my face. "Did I mention how I love that color of blue on you? It looks very lovely with your skin." He almost whispered those endearments. I gave a wobbly smile, "My roommate played dress-up with me today."

He chuckled and tightened his grip on my hand when Jacob began digging into my hamstring again. "Well, I will have to tell her that the clothes were a good choice, but she could have dressed you in a potato sack and you would still be stunning."

I flushed at those words, whether I believed them or not. His gaze turned intense when I did so, "And I will never get tired of seeing that color on your skin either."

I didn't know how to respond. I felt like we were doing something forbidden, something intimate by looking at each other the way we were at that moment.

Jacob finally stopped his ministrations. "Okay Bella, I think we can stop now. How are you feeling?"

I rolled over weakly, my muscles no longer in lockdown mode. The tension in my hamstring seemed diminished greatly, but the pain was now an aching throb. "I feel like it's bruised, but not so tight."

"You probably did a number to the surgical area on your hamstring, and there will definitely be a bruise. If there is still a problem when you come in next time, we may have to refer you back to the surgeon."

I shuddered at that thought and Edward calmed me by running his hand over my hair. "Will you be okay while I do my session?"

I nodded and gave him a stronger smile. "I think I am going to beg Jacob for a little heat therapy while I wait."

Jacob nodded, "Sure, sure. But you will need to apply the cool pack later today to keep any new swelling from getting out of control. Just take it easy today and do the home exercises tomorrow if you feel up to it."

Edward gave me one last, long look… and then shocked me by leaning in to kiss my forehead. Then he gracefully stood up and started his routine.

I felt like the place his lips touched my skin was burning, but in a most wonderful way.

After Edward's workout he sat back on his table waiting for the cool pack. He smiled to see me sitting up and fidgeting on the table. "Did I keep you waiting long?"

"No," I started, more nervous now than I had been since I met him. I mean, the plan sounded good before, but I felt like asking him back to my apartment would be the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Taking a breath and gathering my courage, I started into some weird, embarrassing, babbling rant.

"I was wondering, if maybe, tonight…you could help me, well…help my roommates and I with a game. Oh! I mean, we are having games….well dinner first, then there are games…."

Edward kept a small smile on his face, but his dark brows furrowed over his golden eyes in confusion. "Games?"

This was hell.

I blushed red hot and decided to try again.

"What I meant to say was, we are having dinner and then game night, and the teams are uneven and if you wanted to, you could join us. But if you had plans or whatever its okay.."

He laughed and put his finger on my lips to mercifully silence my stammering.

Oh boy. My lips couldn't decide what to do with that.

He dropped his finger, "So you are inviting me over to your place for dinner and games tonight, correct?"

I nodded mutely.

"I would love to. Can I bring anything to help with dinner?"

Gorgeous, and he is perfectly mannered. My night will end horribly. That is just my luck.

"Umm, I don't think so. I am sort of out of the loop with the whole thing."

"Well, what time should I be there?"

I _did_ know that one, "Dinner starts at six, but you can come over whenever its convenient for you."

"You are heading back to your place after this, right?"

I looked at my watch, "I have to meet with my professor in a little while, but then I think I am just going to play hooky after that," I smiled wryly, "Its been a rough day already."

And I was beyond exhausted. I dreaded heading onto campus even for a short while, but I better get my chapstick ready for some major physic's butt-kissing.

Edward frowned. I am not sure which was more detrimental to my well-being…his smiles or his scowls.

"You are supposed to take it easy, can you reschedule your meeting?"

Ha! "Not if I want to pass physics."

He seemed thoughtful for a brief moment. Then Jacob came over to tell us we could go. We stopped by the front desk and signed up for the same appointment day and time, again. I refrained from dancing for joy in the lobby. Yeah, my hopes are already sky high.

When I started for my truck, Edward stopped me and took my backpack off my shoulders. Confused, I watched him walk to his Volvo and put it in the backseat.

He turned and smile at me, "You coming?"

I moved over to his car, "What are you doing?"

He shrugged as if the answer was obvious, "I am taking you to campus and then driving you straight to your apartment."

I opened my mouth to protest and he shook his head, "You said I could come over whenever I felt like."

"Of course, but you don't have to spend the day with me, and you certainly don't have to drive me to my building."

"I know, but I want to spend the day with you and riding with you in the car counts as part of the day." He seemed to be excited as he explained. "If that's alright with you, of course."

"But my truck…"

"We can come get it later. Besides, you never know when that would be its last trip anywhere." He looked dubiously at my old vehicle standing out among the packed parking lot.

I narrowed my eyes, "I love my truck! Its built like a tank and it will outlive all of us."

Some of that was true.

Edward just shook his head at me, "Come on Bella, let's hurry up and get you home. You need to rest." And then came his half smile/smirk.

Sigh.

Of course I got into the car. It was clean and shiny…and the whole interior smelled like Edward. It was a mixture of sandalwood and some sort of earthy scent I hadn't identified yet. If heaven had a smell, it would be essence of Edward.

As he drove towards campus we talked about our favorite kinds of music. He loved classical music of course, along with classic rock songs. I listened to about everything, so we picked through some of our favorite stations on the radio while he smoothly navigated the claustrophobic beltline traffic.  
I told him which building my meeting was at on campus and he parked right next to it. When he moved to come inside with me, I insisted he stay with the car so he wouldn't get a ticket.

Either way, this wouldn't take long.

I came back out of the building less than ten minutes later and my smile seemed to stretch across my face. He was leaning against the passenger side of the car waiting for me, and held my door open when I reached his side. "Good news?" he asked while loading my crutches into the backseat.

"Yep! I failed!"

He paused the backing car long enough to stare at me, as if not quite sure what to make of my comment. "And that's good?"

I shrugged, "No, not in of itself. But apparently, almost everyone else did too. So the curve was unbelievable! It brought me up to a B minus."

Edward laughed with me, "So what was with the meeting?"

"Well I passed the exam because of the curve, but I am not doing so hot overall in the class. My professor wanted to give me a little pep talk about it."

"Is this a 200 level physics?"

I nodded, wrinkling my nose. "It's a requirement, and I barely passed the 100 level class."

Edward continued driving as I gave him directions to my apartment. "Well, it's been a few years since my last physics class, but if you want I can try to help you out. I did pretty well in it."

Of course you did.

I didn't want to look into the promise of seeing him beyond the physical therapy sessions. Tutoring isn't exactly a proclamation of love. I felt like I was already reading too much into what he has done for me. So when he mentioned tutoring, I made a smile of appreciation but gave no commitment to his offer. If this night ended the way I thought it was going to then I was going to have to cut all ties with him. I couldn't see him as a friend without it ripping my heart apart. A clean break would be the way to go. It would feel like dying to me either way.

After a short drive to the outskirts of Raleigh, We pulled into my apartment complex. I looked around the parking area but didn't see Rosalie or Alice's cars. On one hand, I was extremely relieved. On the other hand…being alone with him in my apartment scared me to death. Edward seemed to read my tension, "You want me to leave?" I looked over at him, his face strangely vulnerable looking. I raked my gaze from the top of his adorable hair down to the lips that made my skin burn earlier that morning. I let out a sigh, gave him a smile and reached for the door.

"Come on up."

**Ok it wasn't supposed to be a cliffie, really! But it's very late and my eyes are crossing. I feel like I didn't give this chapter my full potential, so don't be surprised if I rewrite it later. Thanks for the reviews! They really make Edward feel loved…I mean me, make me feel loved!**


	5. Chapter 5

**All the reviews are awesome. Thanks to those who took the time to apply fingers to keys to encourage me! This was probably the most difficult chapter to write, and it is definitely a climax to the story.**

**Usual disclaimer applies.**

Chapter 5

Edward carried my bag up the stairs as we slowly made our way to the third floor. Edward chuckled as I unlocked the door, "Of course you would live on the top level with a bum leg."

I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him, "Well I didn't have a bum leg when we moved here."

"Bella, you seem like an accident magnet. It was only a matter of time before something happened."

It sucks because it's true.

I brought him in, calling out to see if there was anyone home, and there wasn't. I gave him the two-cent tour of the place, though he mostly seemed interested in which room was mine. He looked over the few pictures I had on display, my CD collection, a few prints by Van Gogh I had tacked to the wall over my desk. Usually I was very apprehensive about people being in my bedroom, my personal space, but Edward looked somehow like he belonged here in my world.

He turned from his pursuit and looked at my face. His eyes got soft, "You should rest."

I couldn't argue with him, I was very tired from dealing with my slip-up this morning. I made my way back out to the living room so we could at least turn on the TV. "Would you like something to drink?"

"I can grab something, you just have a seat." He headed for the kitchen while I gratefully sank onto the couch. He returned a few moments later with not only two cokes, but with a pillow and one of my many icepacks from the freezer. He proceeded to place the pillow on the coffee table and then gently lift my leg onto the pillow. Before I could protest, he began undoing the Velcro that held my brace on and I almost sighed in relief as it was removed. "Thank you, but you don't have to wait on me."

He smirked at me, placed the icepack around my knee and simply said "I know."

We popped open our cokes and flipped through the channels, nothing really catching my interest. I handed the remote to Edward and told him to choose. I wasn't totally surprised to see him flip to ESPN and settle on some sort of Major League baseball game. I couldn't even tell you who was playing, my eyes were slowly dropping lower and lower. I fought to say awake, I didn't want to be rude to my guest and, most importantly, I didn't want to miss out on a second with Edward. He leaned back next to me on the couch, the sides of our bodies touching, and I practically purred when he put his good arm around my shoulders. He played with the end of my ponytail, "Sleep, Bella. I will be here when you wake up." I was out before the last words were whispered from his mouth.

I jerked awake when I heard loud laughing and the apartment door flying open. I felt Edward stand and moved to intercept my roommates while I looked around in confusion. The apartment was completely submerged in a dim orange glow. I looked out the bay windows and saw that it was almost twilight. I had been asleep for a while, but felt much better.

I heard Edward talking in low tones, saying something about me being asleep. Immediately the laughter quieted. Probably stunned silence… probably, they thought we were sleeping _together._

Gotta fix that idea.

"I'm awake." I called out.

Edward came back in the room first. "Sleep well?" he smirked.

I flushed, "Actually, yes. Sorry about leaving you hanging."

Edward ran his hand through his already tousled hair. "Its okay, I needed to rest a bit myself. Your color looks a lot better."

And that made my color flare up even more.

Alice, Rosalie, and their guys came into the room all at once, smiling mischievously. "Hey Bella! Sorry if we woke you. We didn't see your truck so we thought you weren't home yet," Alice's voice tinkled to me.

"Yeah, Edward drove me back here. I kind of had a rough day at physical therapy."

The girls immediately flopped down on either side of me and made sympathetic noises, "Are you okay?"

"Do you need anything?"

I patted their knees, "Thanks, no I am okay. Edward was very helpful." I smiled gratefully to him, and his sexy smile was accompanied by a wink.

The girls looked from him to me, then suddenly they both jumped up, "Here, Edward! You sit down and we will get started on dinner."

"Can I help with anything?" he asked politely.

The girls looked at me and I could just hear the "_Awwwww!"_ going through their heads.

"No you just relax. It's the least we could do for helping our Bella out today." They gave their respective boyfriends a quick kiss and bounced away. I could hear whispering and giggling from the kitchen.

Inwardly groaning, I was hoping Edward couldn't see too much into their blatant matching making efforts. Fortunately, Emmett and Jasper both sat down near us and started chatting about the game on TV with Edward. All three guys seemed in their own little man-world, talking statistics and player-swapping…all things I totally zoned out on. Give me football, and I can call a play before the official does. Baseball will have to be an acquired taste.

Edward seemed to connect with the guys right away and I was glad. I was a little jealous being left out of the conversation, but then Edward reached over and intertwined his fingers with mine. Heat flowed from those intertwined digits to spread through my entire body. Chills ran down my spin as he rubbed his thumb absently over mine.

Baseball talk was now okay in my book.

Alice and Rosalie called out when dinner was on the table and, much to my embarrassment, Emmett carried me to the dining room again. I squeaked in protest and flushed, not exactly what I wanted to happen in front of the object of my desire. When I was set down in my customary chair, I looked to see Edward with his brow furrowed, glaring at Emmett. Jasper saw his frustration and patted him on the back. "It's just a habit, man. Emmett always totes Bella around when he can. I think he is under direct Rosalie orders to keep Bella off her feet."

Emmett sat a few chairs away from me, embarrassing me even further, "Yeah dude, you can carry Bella around all you want when your shoulder heals up."

Edward's scowl faded and he seemed thoughtful. He nodded once and seemed a lot more relaxed as he sat next to me. Alice and Rosalie had outdone themselves with stuffed chicken, whole cut green beans and freshly baked rolls. I was just thankful they didn't break out the lasagna and garlic bread…I didn't want to have dragon breath tonight.

Dinner was amazing. For the first time I felt like I had everything I needed at this one small table. Everyone was joking and laughing and there wasn't one moment of silence. I even chimed in more than usual, something that didn't escape my roommates' sly eyes.

Game time was a different story. We all gathered around in the living room and played "Dirty Minds".

Not my first choice of games to play on my first night with Edward.

I blushed every time my turn came around. Most of the time we missed our points because I was too busy being flustered at the innuendos the game suggested. Edward was not helping when every time I blushed he ran his fingers along the coloring of my cheeks, instead of paying attention to the game.

I realized immediately when my oh-so-helpful roommates began their 'mission'. It started out innocently; a little light touching on his arm, leaning over a little too far with their low-cut tops. The problem was, Edward didn't react to their flirtations….at all.

Which didn't give any good or bad answers. While he wasn't ogling the obvious ladies, he wasn't totally scoffing at their antics and declaring his affection for me.

That's when Alice nodded almost imperceptivity at Jasper.

They broke out the big guns….southern charm.

Jasper scooted closer next to me on the couch and slung his arm around my shoulders. I looked at him in surprise, but he just gave a slow, sexy cowboy smile. "So Bella, you need anything? Can I get you a soda? Pillow? _Anything_ at all?"

Then he winked at me and tugged on my ponytail.

Edward jumped up, knocking the game askew on the table and spilling his soda.

"That's it!" His jaw was clenched and his eyes seemed to darken to black as he towered over me and Jasper.

Jasper had the good sense to remove his arm from around my shoulders.

Edward gestured to my stunned friends. "I don't know what you people do in your private lives, if you play 'musical boyfriends' or whatever. Maybe you just have no concept of boundaries or personal space, but I have to set something straight."

He turned his gaze to meet my wide eyes. His face softened and he gave me a small smile, running his hand through his hair and then letting his hand flop back to his side.

"I like you Bella…. a lot."

My heart flipped around my stomach and came back into my chest, beating double time.

"But…."

Of course there was a 'but', and I braced myself, looking down at my lap.

He sat next to me and took my hand. I blinked up at him as he ran his lips lightly over my knuckles. "But I need you to know that I don't share. I want you to myself, and if you feel the same, I am all yours."

It was all I could do not to pass out. My breathing became a little ragged and, to my horror, my eyes started tearing up.

I felt more than saw the commotion around me. Jasper and Emmett shot up out of their seats and each threw their respective girlfriends over their shoulders. Alice called out before her bedroom door shut, "You're welcome Bella!"

Edward ignored them and stared into my eyes. After a moment, he began to fidget and dropped my hand to run his over his impossible hair.

"Um, well….maybe I should have thought that moment through first." He sighed, and I almost smiled at the unusual lack of confidence coming from this perfect being.

"If you don't feel the same way, that's fine…well…no it's not fine, but I won't stalk you or anything…."

I cut him off, by grabbing that sexy hair and molding my lips to his.

His surprise lasted all of a second, and then he moaned into my mouth, wrapping his arms around me and holding me tight. His lips danced across mine in soft, whispering kisses. Then my intensity took over and I pushed against him, trying to press my whole burning body against his solid marble one.

He was taken by surprise, and we fell onto the couch with me on top. I jerked back when my leg twisted and pain shot through me. I looked down at him and my eyes widened in shock when I saw him grimace.

"Oh God! Your shoulder! Are you okay?" I sat up as quickly as possible, absently grabbing my injured knee with one hand and tried to help him sit up with the other. He held his shoulder with his good hand, "I'm okay. Your answer was just a little more….enthusiastic than I thought it would be." He laughed and dropped his hand, while I ducked my head and flushed, yet again. I was very relieved that I didn't break my Edward.

He reached out and gently lifted my face with his fingers, "But don't let that stop you in the future." I bit my lip to try to keep from grinning and attacking him again, right there. He noticed how I held my knee. "How about you? Are you in pain?"

I just kept smiling.

**If you haven't played dirty minds before, it's hilarious. **

**I think I could stop there and be satisfied, but I am not calling it complete just yet because I am still tossing around some more ideas for this story….and besides, she still has to go get her truck tomorrow morning! ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok I am throwing in my ideas and continuing on with the story. If I get to a point where I need to let it die, put it out of its misery, whatever…let me know. I still have some things I want to do with Jacob (I love jealous Edward) and carry it on at least until they get out of PT. So here it goes!**

**Disclaimer: I would say I wish that twilight was mine, but there is no way I could pull something like that out of thin air like Stephenie did. That's why I am going to borrow her people for a while! Thanks Steph! ******

Chapter 6

The roommates were smart to stay hidden the rest of the evening while Edward was there, though I am not sure whether it was because the guys wouldn't let them come out or all of the sexual tension finally got to them.

I behaved myself, thank you very much. It was like once we jumped off the bridge, we both let down our walls and started into a whole new world. The initial kiss had caught us both off guard. This was all so new, and we wanted to savor the excitement of getting to know each other. I leaned into his good side and Edward trailed his fingers up and down various parts of my body…nothing inappropriate, but it still made me both shiver and flush at the same time. I felt his touch lightly skim over my bare arms, trail through my hair, brush my jaw line. I occupied myself by playing with the fingers on his hand in the sling. I could spend eternity tracing those long, strong hands, knowing how gentle they could be and what magic they held.

"You know," he murmured in a low voice, "Emmett is right. When my shoulder heals I am not going to want to put you down."

I smiled up at him. "That's completely okay with me. Umm, just so you know…they usually aren't like that." I gestured to the closed bedroom doors.

Edward smirked, "I had a feeling they were testing me. I could pretty much ignore the girls when I realized what was going on, but Jasper…." He sighed and ran his hand, through his hair. Each time, his hair style got messier and messier…and I loved it.

"Jasper threw me over the edge. Logically, I knew that he wasn't being serious. But I couldn't stand how he had his hands on you at all. I am a very jealous person that way."

We both chuckled at that obvious statement. I assured him he would have no reason to feel that way from me.

I am team Edward.

I went back to playing with his hand "Edward?"

"Hmmmm" he mumbled, his lips pressed against my hair.

"Are you still able to play your music with your shoulder being hurt?"

He flexed his hand automatically. "Actually yes. At first it was very painful to play certain instruments, like the guitar. But it's gotten much better and I usually prefer the piano anyway. I was really grateful for that. It meant I wasn't out of a job for long."

I felt guilty realizing I didn't even know where he worked. I looked at his face in question.

"I work in a couple different places. I play mostly for social functions, weddings and such."

I nodded to show I was listening.

"But my favorite place to work I only get to do occasionally. You know Rum Runners?"

My eyebrows raised, "You work in a piano dueling bar?"

He gave me his adorable half-smile. "I mostly play for people interested in classical type music. Don't get me wrong, I love it. But every now and then you just have to break loose and have a crazy time, you know what I mean?"

Not so much, the craziest thing I had done was downhill skiing.

Well, then there was the attack on his lips….

"I guess so. Can I see you play sometime?"

He liked that idea. Pausing in thought his eyes got all soft and dreamy, "I would like very much. But not just yet. I am working on something, and I want you to be the first to hear it, but it's not quite finished."

"I can be patient." Maybe.

Snuggling back into his arms, we continued to talk in low tones.

Edward asked, "How about you? Did the accident take away any of your extracurricular activities?"

I blinked, remembering it was just two more days until I started back at work. "Yeah, I work at a veterinary hospital off of Harrison Avenue. I start back in two days."

"What do you do there?"

"I am a veterinary assistant. Basically, it's like being a nurse. I assist the doctor in everything from exams to surgery," I paused, wrinkling my nose, "well, not so much the surgery."

He chuckled again at that.

"But I medicate the animals receiving treatment there, clean up after them, take them on walks…"

"And you are going to be able to do all that by Wednesday?" he asked incredulously.

"Actually, I have been working there for a while and everyone there is sort of like an extended family. They have been great about setting things up for me so that when I come back I am pretty much just answering phones, checking clients in and doing various sit-down jobs."

He leaned his face against the top of my head, "That makes me feel a lot better. It sounds like you really like what you do."

I sighed, "Yeah I do. But it's a very, _very, _low-paying job. I won't be able to make a career out of it, but it keeps me in the field I want to be in until I come up with another plan." I yawned, and thought I was discreet about it.

Edward rubbed my arm. "Time for me to go."

I wanted to protest, but the clock agreed. After all, we both had classes the next day.

Although we had just declared our feelings for each other, I couldn't imagine anything better than falling asleep in his arms.

Patience is a virtue.

"I don't want you to go, but it's probably a good idea." I felt empty as he removed his arm from around me and moved to stand up.

"I will go with you to your car." I wanted to milk every second that he was in my presence.

"Don't you dare." He gave me a stern look. "I would just have to accompany you back _up_ the stairs to make sure you made it back inside okay. Then we will be going back and forth all night!"

I shrugged and stood carefully, adjusting my crutches, "Then I will at least see you to the door."

He hesitated, then acquiesced. He seemed to share my desire to stay close. We reached the door and he stopped and turned in the doorway. "Sleep well Bella. I will see you tomorrow." I must have had a goofy looking confused on my face because his smile got wider in amusement. "Your truck?"

That deserved a mental head slap.

"Oh! Right, we forget to go pick it up tonight."

Edward leaned in close to me and I held my breath as kissed the spot right below my ear. My stomach clenched in response, and I was sure he could hear my heart beating out of my chest.

"I didn't forget. I will see you in the morning."

With that, he disappeared.

I stood there for several moments in a stunned daze, staring at the wall across from my doorway. I was only able to come back to myself when I heard a distant chuckle and Edward's smooth voice from down the stairs, "Go inside Bella."

I flushed, thankful he couldn't see it and turned and shut the door as quietly as possible.

The second the lock made an almost inaudible _click_ my grinning friends came pouring out of their respective rooms. The girls bounced around me as I made my way into the kitchen for a much needed glass of water. Their questions fired off in rapid succession.

"SO?"

"Did you guys kiss?"

"Of course they kissed! But WHERE did he kiss you?"

"You kissed him back? Was there MORE?"

"When are you seeing him again?"

"He is adorable! The two of you are perfect!"

"Wasn't our plan great? It worked like a charm!"

I waited patiently, sipping my water, leaning against the kitchen counter. Eventually, they stopped and just glared at me. I still said nothing.

"BELLA!" they both shrieked in frustration.

I calmly made my way to the dining room table and they hovered around me.

"So, yes. A couple of places. I started it. In a way. Tomorrow. You are so right! It was great…."

They groaned and I smiled into my glass.

I decided to put them out of their misery.

I gave them a play-by-play of the time that they missed. When I told them about how I tackled him, I flushed and they screamed. The guys, who were politely in the next room watching TV, shushed them.

The girls rolled their eyes and begged me to continue.

"Well, he will be here tomorrow to pick me up since my truck is still at PT. I am not sure what will happen after that. I think we are trying to take things kind of slow. We don't want to mess this up."

Alice raised one perfect brow, "Do you _want_ to take it slow?"

I sighed, "Of course! I think, well, I want to do this right, but I don't know. It felt..wrong for him to leave tonight. Is that crazy?"

Rosalie patted my hand. "Yep, but that's how love is."

Love? Oh yeah, its love.

Alice nodded, "We both felt that way with Jasper and Emmett. It's like you don't feel like you are whole unless you are with your man."

"That pretty much sums it up."

"Do I get to dress you again tomorrow?" Alice asked eagerly.

I stood up and started for my bedroom, "Nope! Sorry Alice, I am breaking you out only for special occasions." I turned to see her pouting face, "You know, like a very fine, vintage bottle of wine."

At this she brightened.

I started to shut my door and then turned back to the living room, "Oh and Jasper?"

He picked his head up and looked at me.

"I really appreciate the effort you put in tonight, but I am afraid if you try anything like that again, my boyfriend will kick your ass."

I shut the door on Emmett's booming laugh.

**Short chappie, but I am taking it slow as well! I don't want to get ahead of myself and lose my train of thought. Let me know what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Eh…still giving it a try!**

**Disclaimer blah-di blah-di blah, not mine.**

Chapter 7

I awoke the next morning with a complete sense of excitement, surprised I actually fell asleep! After staying up late into the wee hours replaying every moment of the night before, I had convinced myself that there was no hope for rest. I am pretty sure I got a few hours, but I didn't care. I was seeing my Edward this morning.

I strapped the cursed brace on and floated through my morning routines. The rest of the apartment was quiet, not because I was alone, but because everyone else was still fast asleep. Once or twice a week I was actually the early bird of the apartment. I grimaced when I looked in the mirror to manage my hair. It certainly looked like I hadn't slept the night before. I now had light purple circles under my eyes and the rims were slightly red. Great. It looked like I had been crying all night.

I splashed some cold water on my face and half considered waking one of the girls to help with some makeup, but decided that if Edward was going to be spending time with me he needed to get used to _all_ of me. The good, bad, and the ugly.

The weather was turning warmer every day, and today promised to be beautiful. I dressed in a green tunic top and dark jeans, skipping the jacket. Just as I finished with my cereal I heard a light tapping on the door. I clip-clopped over to the door and there he was, my personal Adonis, looking breathtaking in a black t-shirt with some sort of golden design wrapping around it. The gold almost matched the color of his brilliant eyes. I scanned from his ever-untamed hair to the dark jeans that looked a lot like mine and began to feel some drool coming on. I snapped my mouth shut and he slowly grinned. He reached forward with his hands and trapped my face for a light kiss against my numb lips. "Good morning Bella."

I noticed that it felt a little different than when he usually touched me, and realized that he wasn't wearing his sling today and was using _both_ hands.

"You aren't wearing your sling today." I stated the obvious. Real smooth Swan.

He smiled as my face flushed. "Nope! I was told if the last session went well, and it did, that I could take the thing off finally."

"That's great!"

He reached for my bag that rested on the entryway floor next to me. "Are you ready?"

I locked the door behind us and he waited patiently for me to head down the stairs. The sun momentarily blinded my sensitive eyes, and I remembered the sunglasses I had…in the truck.

He opened the passenger door of his Volvo for me and put my crutches and bag in the back again. He then turned his intense eyes onto me, seeming to devour my appearance. I thought I would feel self conscious, but I mostly felt dazzled.

He squatted down to my level, gently touching the circles beneath my eyes. "You look tired." He said in concern.

I smiled shyly, "I didn't sleep much last night."

He laughed and moved his hand to my hair, "I know what you mean. I stayed up so late. I made myself go to sleep when I realized that was the only way the night would pass quickly and I would get to see you again."

I melted both under his words and under the caress of his gentle fingers running through my long hair. He leaned in next to my face, seeming to inhale my scent. I shivered when I felt his lips move against my ear, "This is the first time I have seen your hair when it's down. You look absolutely ravishing."

I bit my lip and a small moan escaped me. My eyes slid shut involuntarily.

Suddenly, my door was shut and he was in the driver's seat. He didn't say anything for a long while as we drove to pick up my truck. His hands were tense on the steering wheel.

I hesitated for a while then asked him, "Edward? Are you alright?"

He let out along slow breath and seemed to struggle for words, "Bella, you are just so…."

I felt perched on the edge of a cliff. There were a lot of words he could choose to fill that big blank with.

He glanced at me, seeing my trepidation. He reached over and intertwined his fingers with mine. "It's taking everything I have to just concentrate on driving. You are just so tempting, so beautiful it physically hurts to stay away from you."

My heart pounded to hear my own thoughts expressed through his lips. I squeezed his hand, "Then you have some small concept on how I feel about you. I know this is new, but it's so hard to do anything without thinking about you. I am terrified and exhilarated at the same time. I thought maybe I was overreacting."

Edward smoothly parked the car next to my truck. He unbuckled his seat belt and turned in his seat, grinning. "You are definitely not overreacting. We will take this at any pace we want to. As long as you are comfortable, I don't care what everyone else thinks. This is _our_ relationship, you are _my_ girlfriend."

I couldn't quit smiling; this was absolutely turning out to be one of the best days of my life.

He dropped my hand and helped me out of his car and into my truck. He shut the door and leaned through the window close to me. "By the way, how is your leg feeling today?"

I blinked at him. I haven't once thought about how my knee was all day. Doing a quick analysis I answered honestly, "Actually, I haven't noticed it. Its stiff but I feel almost no pain for the first time."

He playfully ruffled my hair. "Keep it that way. I have plans for you. I will call you after classes." A kiss on the cheek and a wink…then he was back to his car. He waited for me as I drove towards campus, and a long day without him.

As soon as I entered my apartment that afternoon I was dialing Edward's number. He picked up after the first ring, "Bella." I could hear his smile over the phone.

"How was your day?" I asked.

"Lonely."

I knew what he meant. I was surrounded by people all day, but somehow felt like I was in my own world. I couldn't believe how people went on about their days like they didn't have a care in the world when the perfect human being was walking around campus somewhere. My life was turned every-which-way the day I met Edward. I wouldn't trade this feeling for anything.

"Bella? You still there?"

"Oh, yes. Sorry. My mind is wandering."

"Should I be worried?" he teased.

I smiled into the phone, "Of course not. I was wondering if you wanted to do something tonight."

"Of course I do. What did you have in mind?"

I was about to tell him that I didn't care what we did, as long as I was with him, when Alice, Rosalie and Jasper ran into the apartment. The waved in greeting to me when they saw I was on the phone. "Sorry, my roommates just got home."

"Did you want to do something with them too? We can do a group thing again. I need to make amends for my behavior last night."

"I think they are the ones who owe you an apology. Let me ask if they want to join us."

I held set the phone down so I could hobble over to Rosalie's doorway. "Hey Rose?"

She looked up from putting her books on her desk, her eyebrow raised in question.

"Do you want to do a group thing with me and Edward tonight?"

I couldn't help but smile back at her when she clapped her hands excitedly.

"Oh Bella! I am so happy for you! But you know what tonight is, right?"

My mind was blank…unless it was about Edward there was nothing tangible floating around in my skull.

She made a huffing noise, "Its game night!"

Oh yeah. Mental head slap.

Due to a drop in ticket sales last season, this year the athletic departments of certain ACC schools were having very early pre-season games. The idea was that a "scrimmage" here and there exclusively for the student body of the respective college would boost interest in the season to come. This particular football game was scheduled originally for a Thursday night, but due to a conflict on both teams they rescheduled it for a Tuesday night….tonight.

It was very rare that a college game was played on a Tuesday. What made it even more special was it was NCSU versus Florida State University.

Big, big, big rival. Our new head coach was the assistant coach at FSU not too long ago…and we have been waiting for this match. Even though it wasn't an official conference game, more like practice, it was promising to be one hell of a game.

Rosalie rolled her eyes at my realization. "Tell Edward to come. You know Emmett always gets plenty of extra tickets to the games. We will be leaving in an hour to start tailgating in our usual spot."

I hobbled back to phone, "Okay sorry that took so long."

"It's okay, I can be patient sometimes."

"Do you want to go to the game tonight?"

Edward sounded surprised. "Well, yeah that sounds great! I never win tickets to the games. I have bad raffle luck."

The students at NCSU get free tickets based on a lottery system. A lot of times people never win a single lottery, and it really sucked to miss out on all the games.

Fortunately, my roommate sleeps with a linebacker.

"Emmett always gets extra tickets so we have plenty. Do you think you can meet us in an hour? We always tailgate beforehand. There is usually plenty to eat and drink so you don't have to worry about bringing anything but yourself and maybe a chair."

"Great! I will be there in a minute. See you soon!"

We hung up and I turned and nearly ran over Alice who was grinning. "You ready Bella?"

I sighed. Even though games are casual, they insisted on dressing me in 'proper' casual clothes.

A few minutes later I was sitting in a chair with my white NCSU t-shirt on over a long-sleeved red shirt. They talked me into wearing a knee-length denim skirt, even though I thought it was a little too much for a football game.

"Relax Bella. Its not like you will be getting up and throwing the ball around anyways. You can look good while being an invalid!" I stuck my tongue out at Alice's quirky smile. She stood back and hummed while she studied me. "Rose!" She bellowed.

Rosalie came out and there was no mistaken where we were going tonight. We all wore an ensemble of NCSU brand clothing, hats and jewelry to support our team. Rosalie always wore Emmett's jacket over her clothing, 'marking' her as his woman (as he always says).

Alice didn't take her eyes off me and I began to get a little nervous. "What do you think we should do with her hair tonight? Same thing as before?"

Before Rosalie could answer I held up a hand timidly, "Um, can I make a request?"

They both looked surprised at my request. Usually I had no input on their devious plans; I just went along with it.

It was easiest that way.

"I think Edward likes it when my hair is down."

They smiled slowly at each other.

Oh crap.

"And what, exactly, makes you think that? Did he say something about it?"

I burned bright red.

"It wasn't so much what he said, but…how he…reacted."

Thankfully, they had mercy on me and dropped it. But they still worked on my hair and makeup. Alice did some sort of magic to make my eyes look "smoky" and Rosalie took a flat iron to my hair, curling it at the ends to make my layers more prominent. I had to admit when I looked in the mirror, I felt pretty hot!

Rosalie fluffed the ends of my hair, satisfied with her work, "Edward is going to love your hair!"

Alice scoffed behind me as I stood in front of her bathroom mirror, "Forget the hair, he wont be able to take his eyes off her butt!"

I awkwardly turned to see what the deal was with _that_.

Hmm, not bad! The denim was loose enough for my to stretch my leg out if I needed to, but it hugged my backside very nicely.

I need to let them Barbie me more often.

**Ok, another shortie and kinda awkward place to end it but its late and my eyes are fighting to stay open. I am posting this earlier than I planned because I love you guys and your reviews told me to post ASAP…ask and ye shall (hopefully, most of the time) receive!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Things are starting to slow down, did I lose you guys? :P**

**I want to give a special recognition to Loulabelle, who has consistently reviewed my chapters and gave me the extra incentive to keep throwing my ideas out for all to see! Thanks sweetie! ******

Chapter 8

The atmosphere was electric.

Sun was setting over the crowd of cars, trucks and tents. There were thousands of people gathered to cheer on the Wolfpack, and a few to back the Seminoles. Those people were smart to stay on the outskirts of the packed fairgrounds.

Carter-Finley Stadium was surrounded by a parking area used for both games and the annual state fair. While the half gravel/half pavement area was massive, it was packed tight with grills, chairs and cars. Everything was red and white, and the various styles of music blaring from stereos added to the pumped up energy moving across the excited fans.

It was one of my favorite places on earth.

I was sitting in one of the folding chairs situated between Emmett's massive Jeep and my beat up truck. This was the only time people loved my semi-reliable vehicle…when it was time to haul tail-gating equipment. Jasper was at the grill, turning over hotdogs and hamburgers. Alice and Rosalie had laid out side dishes and condiments on a folding table under our canopy tent. Edward was talking with someone from one of his classes a few feet away. I was doing a good job of people watching from my seat. I heard people cheering and laughing all around, throwing footballs and stopping by to great each other. Rosalie could have set us up with the other "family members" of the football players. But that area is a lot more formal and a lot less fun, we prefer to mingle with the common folk.

I heard Edward's musical laughter and turned to watch him. He sported a black t-shirt with 'NCSU Football' in red lettering and light colored jeans. I love it when he wears black. He turned to me and caught me staring. Of course I blushed and he smiled that sexy half smile. I vowed never to tell him how much power that smile had over me, but he probably knew already.

He turned briefly to shake hands with his friend and then started towards me. He sank into the chair next to me and locked his fingers into the back of my hair. He pulled me close and kissed me hard, but briefly. Just enough to make me dazed.

He released me and sighed. "I really wish now that I would have suggested something more private for us tonight. But you seem to be enjoying yourself."

I couldn't deny that. "Well, this is one of my favorite things to do, tailgating. It's almost better than the actual game." I smiled shyly at him. "And you are here with me. It's perfect."

"Perfect." He agreed, but he was looking at me, raking his eyes very slowly over me. I felt my skin burn where his gaze touched. "Have a mentioned how lovely you look tonight?"

I rewarded him with another kiss. Growing bolder, I pulled back just enough to lightly run my tongue over his bottom lip. I felt him suck in his breath. This made me grin.

"Only about a hundred times."

He growled and pulled me gently onto his lap. "Not nearly enough then," his whispered against my burning mouth. His lips moved over mine, and I could feel my lips open involuntarily. Before we could enjoy our new level of intimacy, we heard Alice chirp from over at the food table, "Hey hey, now! None of that, you two! We need to eat and make our way to the stadium. Bella gets really ticked if she misses kick-off."

I hid my tomato-red face against Edward's shoulder and he ran his hand up and down my back in comfort. I felt him give a huge sigh, then place me back on my own chair. He nimbly stood and looked down at me. "You get ticked?"

I grinned, "I love football. It's the one thing that Charlie – my dad- and I connected on. Kick-off sets the mood for the whole game."

Edward nodded, "Like the first pitch of baseball. That makes sense to me."

He prepared two plates and we laughed and ate with the rest of the group, packed away some of the camp and headed towards the stadium. Thanks to Emmett, we had perfect seats, front row at the fifty yard line.

The stadium was packed of course. Most of the scenery was an incredible quilt of red and white. There was only one small section of the stadium reserved for the maroon-clad Seminole fans. My crutches were stored under the bleacher seats and I sat gripping Edward's hand in excitement, basically bouncing in my seat. He laughed at my eagerness, but everyone else was used to my reaction to games.

The entire stadium jumped to their feet as music blared out of the speakers and the Wolfpack starting line was announced when they ran on the field. I tugged on Edward's sleeve, indicating I wanted his help up. He kept one arm around my waist as I balanced on one good leg, raised my hands clapping and started cheering at the top of my lungs. Soon he joined in and I was sure we were the loudest group as they announced Emmett's name and he came running out to the field. He immediately found us and blew a kiss to Rosalie. She jumped and waved and gladly retuned it.

The Wolfpack received the first kick, and once the game was underway I sat back down. The game was pretty even, which was not surprising. FSU may have been a higher ranking team, but our new coach knew all of their plays and we had an awesome quarterback and defensive team. Emmett led the defense in keeping the fans on their feet. On one play, he managed to take down a Seminole receiver who had bypassed two other defensive players. This resulted in a fumble and one hell of a return for the Wolfpack. The cheers were deafening and Emmett ripped off his helmet, grinning from ear to ear. He looked over at Rosalie and touched his chest over his heart and pointed at her. Many girls in the surrounding seats glared at her in envy.

Edward and I would discuss the plays and he would look at me incredulously and laugh when I yelled at the officials on a bad call.

"Come on! Is he blind? That was not a fumble! The guy was down!"

The clock was on the last minute and the score was close. We were down by three and had possession of the ball. While the officials were discussing the call in the midst of a stadium full of jeers, Edward tugged on my hair. I gave him my undivided attention. When I got caught up in his eyes, I could care less about the football game, or anything else for that matter. He grinned at me, "You need a drink after all that yelling?"

"Sorry! I just get a little carried away sometimes."

"I think it's adorable. And you wouldn't believe how nice it is to be able to enjoy football with a girl who actually knows what's going on."

I couldn't help but be a little proud of that.

"Well, if you are going anyways I wouldn't mind a bottle of water. But hurry back, if we score one more touchdown they have no time to recover. The game will be ours!" He kissed my cheek and turned towards the concessions exit. Jasper stood as well, "I'll go with him and get a round for everyone." Alice winked at us and went with him.

As they both walked away Rosalie scooted down the bleacher seat to snuggle next to me. "Alice is taking advantage of the timeout and hitting up the little girl's room." Then she smiled slyly, "Soooo……"

I raised my brow in question, but couldn't wipe the smile from my face.

She grinned back and nudged me a little. "You guys look like you are getting along well."

I sighed like a love-sick puppy.

Oh, wait….

"He is amazing, this whole thing is amazing. Rose, I can't believe how happy I am."

She fluffed out my hair and looked at me almost seriously, "Bella, you deserve to be happy. But I know you. You will try to find a reason why it can't work because you think you aren't good enough. Don't let that happen with this guy. You are _so_ worth it, and more. You two remind me of Emmett and I when we first met. Everything happened so fast, almost too fast, but when you know that person is meant for you, you shouldn't try to stop it."

I didn't know what to say to her. This was a different side of Rosalie. I was beginning to feel like I might cry.

"So Bella, what I am trying to says is don't be afraid of what is happening. Just do what makes you happy, no matter what."

I turned and hugged her close, careful not to mess with her perfectly styled hair, "I promise. Thanks Rose…for everything."

When we pulled back we laughed to see we were both being very weepy.

The game resumed. All eyes were glued on the offensive team. With one down left and only 20 yards from the goal line, we were on the edge of either a great win or a heart-breaking loss. Rosalie helped me up and we held hands in tension as the play began. The quarterback took several long paces backwards and I knew he was going for it. I held my breath and gritted my teeth as he looked directly at the receiver moving into the end zone. The whole stadium came to their feet as the ball spiraled through the air, glided over the outstretched fingers of a Seminole defensive player and into the waiting hands of the NCSU receiver.

Touchdown!

The roar shook the structure of the stadium. We all knew it was over. There was only 5 seconds left on the clock. I bounced up and down on my good leg, with a lot of Rosalie's support.

I looked back at the concession's exit. Where was Edward? He missed the most important play of the game!

Rosalie pointed to the corner of the field. "Look at those idiots. They got out on the field."

I chuckled at the group of rowdy fans that were being restrained by event security. My smile faded as I noticed more fans at the opposite corner also trying to get onto the field.

Rosalie scoffed, "Don't they know the clock hasn't run out yet?"

I didn't respond as my confusion tuned to disbelief. There were now large groups of people on the field, and the fans definitely outnumbered the security. The officials whistled for a stop in the game and signaled for the players to exit the field. The announcer called a warning over the speakers for fans to remain off the field.

Then all hell broke loose.

Fans started pouring out onto the field by the hundreds. Carter Finley Stadium had a capacity of sixty thousand people, and almost all of them wanted on that field. Being right next to the field, Rosalie and I were in a very precarious position. We huddled down together on the bleacher seat as people ran around us and pushed each other to get over the rail.

"What's going on?" I yelled to be heard over the crowd.

"They are tearing down the goal post! The morons are celebrating by tearing up our own stadium!" She shouted back.

I looked frantically for Edward, Jasper or Alice in the sea of faces. Suddenly three guys wearing matching fraternity shirts stumbled behind us and fell over our heads onto the concrete at our feet. One guy banged against my leg on his way down and I shrieked in pain. Rosalie moved and pushed him as far away as she could, "What's your problem you loser! Get away from her!"

I started to panic as people pressed around us, grabbing my leg protectively. Tears were filling my eyes, both in pain and in fear. Rosalie crouched protectively over me, "We have to get out of here!"

I couldn't agree more. We tried to reach for my crutches that were stored under our seats, but each time we reached for them someone would run over us, and we were in danger of receiving broken bones in the process. I turned to tell Rosalie to leave without me and go get help when I saw the relief on her face. There, pushing his way through the crowd was Edward and I automatically reached for him. He stopped to push one drunken guy out of the way and then he was there beside of me. "Where are the others?" I asked frantically.

"I told Jasper to get Alice outside. We need to leave _now_."

"My crutches…"

"Leave them."

He put one of my arms around his shoulder and Rosalie moved to do the same on my other side. By now we could see the goalpost over the crowd, shaking as thousands of fans began working it out of the ground. There were a lot of screams echoing among the shouts of celebration. We stumbled slowly, pushing between people as they either poured out onto the field or ran for the exit. We were doing pretty well until someone ran full force into Rosalie and she cried out and stumbled into me and I in turn pushed Edward. I gasped and tears came to my eyes as my knee was wrenched from the movement.

Edward cursed and helped me stabilize. I looked to Rosalie, who was holding hand against her arm, a look of alarm on her face. We were in trouble.

Edward moved to the other side of me and put his mouth to my ear to be heard, "On the count of three, jump straight up!"

I looked at him incredulously.

"Trust me! One…two….three!"

I jumped the best I could and with a small grunt he swept his arm underneath my legs and cradled me against his chest. I reached around his neck instinctively. He turned to Rosalie, "Grab my shirt! Do _not_ let go!"

I couldn't see if she complied or not, but we were suddenly moving quickly through the crowd. My injured leg was held against his body and he squeezed me close so I could tuck my face against his neck.

I couldn't see much, but I heard the sounds of the stadium fading slightly and the sound of sirens getting louder. I was surprised I could hear either over my pounding heart.

Eventually I felt cooler air on my skin and I brought my head up to look around us. We were now outside the stadium and the crowd was a lot thinner out here. I heard a beautiful sound call out to us, "Rose! Edward! Over here!"

We turned and saw Jasper and Alice waiting by one of the gates waving at us.

"Are you guys alright?" Edward asked as we reached them. Edward didn't put me down and we didn't stop for a second. We kept moving towards the tailgating parking lot, watching ambulances and fire trucks try to move through the exodus.

Jasper led the way, "We are okay. How about ya'll?"

"I think we're okay, but the girls got a little banged up."

I looked up at my rescuer, "Edward, put me down. Your shoulder….you shouldn't be carrying me."

"Not yet," he ground out between clenched teeth. I stayed in a worried silence all the way back to Jeep. He let out a small groan as he set me into the chair I had occupied earlier. After reassuring I was settled he reached up and rubbed his shoulder, rotating his arm in circles. "Are you alright, Edward?" I asked shakily.

He immediately kneeled down in front of me, but I could tell he was keeping his eye on the people moving around our small camp. "I'm good, just a little sore. It's not as bad as I thought it would be actually. How about you? Any pain?" He gently rubbed my injured knee as he spoke, concern thickened his voice.

My face pinched slightly, "A little. I really can't tell right now. Everything happened so fast…"

He leaned down and kissed my hands that were clenched on my lap, then rubbed his thumbs over my knuckles, trying to relieve the tension.

"We'll get out of here soon. We need to wait for the crowd to thin out before we try to drive anywhere." I nodded in understanding. I saw Rosalie looking around anxiously, still rubbing her arm. "Rose? You okay?"

She looked at me and gave a small smile to reassure me. "Yeah, but I will have a heck of a bruise later. I am just worried about Emmett."

"You know, they probably have the guys on lockdown until things settle out."

She sighed and sat in the chair across from where Edward and I were huddled close together. She took off her jacket and I saw that she _already_ had one heck of a bruise and I shivered. The night had a little chill to it, but I was pretty sure my tremors came from a delayed reaction to the danger we were all just in.

"I know…. you are right. I just can't believe all this happened. I mean…. we were winning for God's sake!"

Jasper turned to us briefly. "They were following the ring-leaders. I heard that they wanted to march the goal post down by campus. If they manage to get that thing out of the ground…." He trailed off, meeting Edward's eye's meaningfully before turning back to scan the masses of people. I assume he was either looking for Emmett or keeping an eye out for any trouble heading our way. Alice moved over to him briefly. "Let's pack everything we can just in case we need to move fast."

Jasper kissed the top of her head and moved to help her do as she suggested. Edward looked like he wanted to help, but I couldn't quit shaking. He pulled me back into his embrace and rubbed his hands up and down my arms. He murmured words of comfort in my ear, "We're okay. We'll go home soon. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

Just then we heard one loud voice carry across the din of the rest of the crowd.

"Rose! Rosie!"

Rosalie gasped and shot out of her chair, "Emmet? EMMETT!"

She started running and jumped into Emmett's strong arms. For a moment he just held her close, on hand on the back of her head, pressing her face against his neck, eyes closed. He must have run straight from the stadium, since he had most of his gear still on. He was also breathing very hard, but I had a feeling that was more from fear for Rosalie than exertion.

He pulled back and kissed her hard, then looked her over from head to toe. He saw her bruise and touched it gently, "God, are you okay? I got here as soon as I realized you weren't in the stadium anymore…"

Rosalie grabbed his face in her hands and peppered it with kisses.

"I'm okay! Baby I was so worried about you. How did you get away?"

He grabbed her hands and kissed them, "Later. We have to go, right now."

He held Rosalie's hand and started towards us. "They got the goal post out. There are thousands of people carrying it, and they are coming this way. It's out of control! They are tearing up everything in their way."

We didn't hesitate. I was struggling to get myself up even as Edwards was lifting me back into his arms.

Emmett pushed Rosalie into the passenger seat of his Jeep, "Everyone get in the Jeep, we are going to need the four-wheel drive."

"What about my truck?"

Edward agilely moved into the backseat and kept me on his lap, "We'll come back for it and anything else left behind tomorrow."

Jasper took the other backseat and held Alice close on his lap. The doors were barely shut when Emmett fired the Jeep up and started out on the gravel road running alongside the parking area. It wasn't long before we were in a gridlock. Emmett tapped his hand on the steering wheel, impatiently muttering "C'mon".

Suddenly we heard screaming and glass breaking from behind us. Turning in our seats, we all watched in horror as we saw a huge crowd quickly coming down the road from behind us. I could clearly make out the bright yellow of the goal post hovering above the pulsating mass of people. It frequently ran into vehicles, shattering glass and gouging metal. A few cars back, people gave up their vehicles and attempted to escape on foot. I cried out as I saw one girl get knocked down, then disappear under the feet of the careless celebrating fans.

"Oh God!" I felt tears filling my eyes. What kind of nightmare were we in?

"Emmett! GO! GO!" Jasper yelled.

Emmett looked around us. On one side of us was the thick fence line marking the fairground property, the other side was nothing but forest. After a moment's hesitation, Emmett turned into the woods.

I wrapped my arms around Edward as we bounced through the brush. I was gasping in fright, sure that we just left one disaster to just get into another. I could still see the chaos out the back window. Edward's marble arms kept me as still as possible, "Don't look Bella, close your eyes."

I obeyed.

After several more jostles and a few curses from Emmett, we were suddenly running on a flat surface. Edward ran his hand through my hair. "Its ok," he whispered, "we're safe now." I looked up and saw that we were on a two-laned paved road with thick trees on either side of us. Emmett seemed to have trouble releasing his strained grip on the steering wheel. He looked into the rearview mirror, "Does anyone know where the hell we are?"

I looked at a sign as we passed an intersecting dirt road, "I know! We are on Ramsey Road. This is the way I take to get to my labs. There are a few farms down this road, but then it dead ends."

Alice spoke up, "What's back the other way?"

I grimaced, "Blue Ridge Road. It's the only way on and off this road."

Everyone stayed silent in thought. Blue Ridge would bring us directly in the path of the riot.

Rosalie sighed, "I don't know about you guys, but I need something to drink, and a place to rest for a bit wouldn't hurt either."

I cocked my head to the side, "We could go to the equine unit. There is a small classroom there, but it may be locked. I know they have drink machines outside and the stables are usually not locked."

Edward gave me an impressed look. I shrugged, "I did well in Equine Medicine. I spent a lot of time studying at the stable."

Emmett continued down the dark road, "Works for me. I need to calm down."

After a few miles I instructed him where to turn in and we parked behind the massive horse stable. There was only one light on outside. Alice asked if there were anyone usually staying at the stables at night.

"Only when a mare is expected to foal, then there is someone here twenty-four hours a day. There aren't any pregnant mares right now."

My guess was that anyone that _was _here earlier had decided to go to the game as well.

The air seemed much cooler here. The remote location was surrounded by ponds and woods, so the moisture hung in the air and settled on our skin.

Edward picked me up bridal style again, after reassuring me that he was not hurting his shoulder by doing so. We all stopped by the drink machine and picked a variety of caffeine loaded sodas before heading inside the dark stable.

Horses nickered in greeting as I leaned in Edward's arms to flick on one low light. We walked down the dirt breezeway and I pointed out the tack room. "There should be a couple of cots in there. People catch naps when they can if a mare takes all night to give birth." I motioned for Edward to keep going until we reached a certain stall. The doors were open and only a little light shown into the stall, but it was enough to know we reached the hay storage stall.

"It was a double stall used for a birthing room, but it wasn't needed this season, so they keep hay bales in here so the stable hands don't have to drag it from the shed outside. The hay should be pretty comfortable."

He stepped into the dim stall and set me down on a soft pile near the corner. Apparently, the other couples either stayed in the tack room or found somewhere else to unwind, because we were alone.

He didn't take his arms from around me as he gently laid me back and kept his intense gaze locked on mine as he lay down next to me. He hesitated briefly before pulling me carefully against his hard chest. I could hear the steady rhythm of his heart, and my heart automatically slowed to match it.

"Is this okay?" he whispered.

I sighed and snuggled as close as I physically could. I felt my muscles relax for the first time since the chaos began. "This is more than okay."

I felt his hand run over the length of my hair. We were silent for a long while, and I suddenly wondered if he was as tired as I was.

"Edward?" I asked quietly.

He didn't answer me. I brought my head up to see him staring at me intently, burning me with his now dark eyes. I saw the muscles in his cheek clenching and unclenching.

"What's wrong?"

He shut his eyes and took a deep breath in and then exhaled slowly. He opened his eyes again and moved his hand to gently cup my face, rubbing his thumb hypnotically back and forth across my cheek bone.

When he spoke, his voice cracked with emotion, "When I was away from you, and I saw what was happening, the only thing I could think was to get back to you. I thought I would run into, sure you and Rosalie were coming out to the exit, but when I couldn't see you past the all the people…I panicked. I saw people pushing and kicking and tearing at each other to get over the rail, and I knew that you were in danger."

He paused to swallow thickly, and I felt a sympathetic knot in my own throat.

"I felt like someone was tearing my heart out. I imagined all sorts of things that could have happened to you….for one moment…one excruciating moment….I went insane. If anything would have happened to you…."

I silenced him with my lips, being gentle at first. Then we both kissed with an urgency unlike we have felt before. I tangled my hands in his hair and gasped as his tongue swept past my lips. I could feel his hand move to my hip, pulling me tight against him.

After several minutes, we both pulled back, gasping for breath. I kept my eyes closed as he kissed away the tears I hadn't realized were running down my face.

I kissed him one more time with my now swollen lips and looked into his eyes. They seemed to have returned to their normal golden color.

"I knew you would come for me. You saved both me and Rosalie. Thank you."

Finally, he gave me a small smile. "By saving you, I saved myself."

I returned his smile, trying desperately not to cry again. I turned to press my face against his chest again, snuggling close. He wrapped both arms around me again, kissed the top of my head and whispered, "Close your eyes for a bit. I'll be here when you open them."

Unbelievably I felt myself drift towards sleep wrapped in the arms of the man I loved, lying in a soft bed of hay. The last thought that registered in my mind was that Edward was humming the most beautiful melody……..

**There! Phew! This was the most intense chapter I have written…and it was pretty much a blast! ******** It's a long one too so that should make everyone happy. How happy? We'll tell me how happy! Cause you can guess what makes me happy *hint hint***


	9. Author's Note

Sorry sorry sorry! Not a new chapter…yet!

I am still tossing around some ideas and also seeing what kinds of responses/reactions I get from what I have so far…seeing if I should keep it alive..if there is enough interest in the story anymore.

What I _did_ want to post was an explanation of the latest chapter, which has raised one particular repeating question:

Can a goal post actually be torn from the ground???

Why, yes it can!

Back in the good ol' days when Chuck Amato was a good coach and Philip Rivers hadn't graduated yet, NCSU had one hell of a football team! One particular game, and I honestly can't recall if it was against UNC or FSU, the goal post was ripped out of the ground of Carter-Finley Stadium and carried several miles on Hillsboro St in Raleigh, NC. A lot of damage was done as people and the goal post ran into cars parked on the street and I know several people walked away with injuries..but as far as I know no one was seriously hurt or killed, just a ton of expensive damage.

To put a goal post back in the ground was expensive enough!

I wasn't at that game, but I was on the 9th floor of a dormitory that was about a block away from Hillsboro St and you could hear the crowd carrying on and stuff being damaged..it was crazy!

Then the next season during a NCSU FSU game I was at, they tore the goal post down again! I stayed in the bleachers with a few friends (one was too drunk to join in the ruckus) and people were pushing and shoving like I described in my story. NCSU got wise after the first time or two though, and now the goalpost is collapsible…so if people tore it out of the ground it was easily put back in. However, they would not allow people to take the goalpost out of the stadium, and when people tried the police hosed everyone down with mace…nuts!

I don't know why people act that way, but it made for one fun chapter to write and one of the most memorable experiences of my life!

Those were the days *sigh*

Anyways thanks to you who have consistently reviewed what I post and I will hopefully get back into my writing groove tomorrow.

THANK YOU THANK YOU!


	10. Chapter 9

**WOOOOOOOOOWWW! I guess there are some people who approve of the story! Lol**

**Thanks soooo much all of you guys who took the time to review and the many many many more people who added it to their favorites.**

**Man, I wish I could cash in on this haha. Being a military wife doesn't pay much :P**

**If I haven't responded to your review personally, that's because for some reason my computer gets stupid when I try to reply, so only half of my replies actually make it through. But I do love you and it looks like you all love….Edward! (duh)**

**Oh, and bless you all for not pointing out all my grammatical errors (which I picked out as I went back and read the chapters). I really really really reply on spell check. I was a science major, not an English major.**

Chapter 9

I wasn't sure what exactly woke me up.

I laid in a strong embrace, not wanting to move from my perfect spot. I shivered lightly at the feel of fingers running down my spine. I still knew exactly where I was and who I was with, but it felt like I just fell asleep minutes ago. I snuggled closer into Edward's hard chest, trying to escape the chill in the air. He squeezed his arms tighter around me and gently placed one jean-clad leg over my bare ones, careful not to jostle my knee. I smiled into his chest as he played with the skin peeking from the bottom of my shirt on my lower back.

"Are you awake?" Edward whispered quietly in my hair.

"No." I whispered back. "You?"

I could feel him smile against me, "If this is me sleeping, I don't really care to wake up."

I nodded against him. I agreed whole-heartedly.

He sighed and pulled back slightly and I slowly opened my eyes. His hair was even more rumpled than usual and I giggled to see bits of hay sticking in it. He gave a sleepy smile and tugged on a lock of my hair, "Don't laugh too hard, you seem to have a whole bale stuck in yours."

I groaned, realizing what a mess I must be. I don't wake up perfect looking like Rosalie does…even in regular sleeping conditions.

He kept smiling as he gave me a soft, lingering kiss.

"Beautiful," he whispered against my mouth.

I was thinking how this was turning out to be the best night of my life, when I realized….it was still night.

"What time is it?" I asked.

Edward pulled back and reluctantly sat up. I shivered at the loss. Then he raked a hand through his hay-covered hair, and I shivered for a whole other reason.

"I'm not sure, but we can't be far from sunrise. Jasper just stopped by right before you woke up to tell us it was probably safe to get back on the roads again."

I nodded and held out a hand for him to help me up. When we were both standing I shook the hay from my hair and tried to swipe it off my clothes, and then gave up. Nothing but a hair brush and a long shower was going to help with that.

Edward bent over and moved to pick me up but I stopped him, "Wait, you carried me enough already. Your shoulder must be hurting."

He hesitated a moment, but that was enough.

"Just help me hop out and I will be fine, we are in no hurry."

He sighed again, "I am so ready to get this shoulder healed."

We hobbled our way out of the hay stall and I saw the other couples moving around in the dim light of the barn. Alice yawned into her hand as Jasper tiredly rubbed her back with one hand. Even Rosalie looked like she hadn't slept anymore that we did. Only Emmett appeared energized, but Emmett _always_ had energy to spare.

"Hey guys! Sleep well?" he gave an exaggerated wink, looking at our hay-covered appearance. My faced burned like it was on fire. I couldn't make myself look at Edward to see what his reaction was, but he was very quiet.

Rosalie smacked Emmett on the arm, but looked a little amused herself. "How's your arm, Rose?" I asked as we made our way next to them.

"Hurts like hell, but nothing a couple of Advil won't fix. How about you? How's your leg?"

I blinked and looked down to make sure I still had a leg. I flexed it slightly in experimentation. "Hmm."

"What's wrong?" Edward asked, immediately concerned.

"No, nothing's wrong. It doesn't hurt at all." I kind of bewildered. I reached down and tapped on my knee. "Actually, I don't feel much of anything."

Edward's brow furrowed, "Your leg is numb?"

I shrugged, "I guess so. It's kind of a weird feeling. It's still stiff, so maybe it's just asleep or something." I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, I was just happy it didn't hurt for once!

Edward eased my arm from around his shoulders and held me stable while I stood on one foot. "Emmett? Do you mind? My shoulder isn't cooperating this morning…"

Emmett stepped up, "Say no more!" and scooped me up into his large arms, still wearing his uniform from the game. I wrinkled my nose, "No time for a shower last night huh big guy?"

Emmett smirked at my teasing, " Har har! Keep it up, Bells. I will drop your funny butt!"

Edward quirked a smile, but made it perfectly clear to Emmett that he would do no such thing.

I love my boyfriend!

We all piled back into Emmett's Jeep, the seating arrangements the same as the night before. We could just barely see the sky lightening in the east. I tried not to think about my classes ahead this morning. I couldn't afford many more skip days.

When we reached Blue Ridge Rd, we headed for the beltline entrance. Emmett had no problem with our request to stop by McDonald's for some dinner/breakfast. As we drove by campus, we saw the damage the crowds left behind, and then some.

Cars were damaged all along the street, most with broken windows that had been hastily covered with plastic. Some buildings had broken windows as well with plywood in their place. If that wasn't enough, it seemed like every tree on campus was white with toilet paper.

Alice scoffed, "What are the odds that the Seminole fans tp'd campus?"

Jasper shook his head, "There is too much for just a few fans. I am sure this handwork is thanks to our own dorm-dwellers."

Unbelievable! The good news was that they wouldn't have bothered if the officials threw the game…so I guess we still walked away with a win.

All this for a non-conference pre-season rivalry. Nice.

As we munched on our food and drove back to our apartment, Edward rubbed my knee absently. I looked down and stared at his hand. It was so strange to see him touching me, but I still couldn't feel it. He saw where my gaze was focused and his hand stilled, "Is your knee still numb?"

I nodded, "It's nice it doesn't hurt, but it's weird not to be able to feel anything at all."

He reached lower and ran his hand over my bare shin. "How about that?"

I shook my head, "Nothing. I wouldn't even know you were touching me unless I was looking."

He reached above my knee, hesitating before sliding his warm hand under the hem of my skirt and skimmed up my thigh. I sucked in my breath and bit my lip from moaning. I was extremely glad that Alice and Jasper were sitting back with their eye's closed.

"You felt that." It was more of a statement than a question. Oh yeah, he noticed my reaction all right.

I couldn't speak, so I nodded.

He removed his hand and I almost sobbed. I never had a man touch me so intimately before, and I was pretty sure Edward didn't mean it as some sort of come-on.

Not _totally_ sure, but pretty sure…because he didn't look so much turned on as he looked worried.

"Is there anyway you could switch your physical therapy appointment to today?"

We both had an appointment tomorrow afternoon and I was confused at Edward's concern.

"Its okay Edward, it doesn't hurt…"

"I know, but Bella," he paused. "I don't think that's normal. There may be something going on that needs to be looked at sooner than tomorrow."

"Really?" I looked at my leg, like something should look different. "I don't know Edward, I really shouldn't miss anymore class, and what if they don't have any appointments available? Plus, I would really rather go when you go too."

He kissed my head, "Silly Bella, I will go with you today. I am sure if you ask them just to take a look you shouldn't need an appointment."

Then he broke out the sexy half-smile. "Please? It would make me feel better. And if they say everything is good, I will personally drive you to class and help you with any work you missed."

I knew he wouldn't give up until I said yes, and truthfully, I wanted to know what was going on as well.

Besides, I knew he would help me with my studies not matter what.

Everyone trudged up the three flights of stairs (I was carried by Emmett of course). Alice and Rosalie didn't say anything as they wearily went into their bedrooms. I could hear the thumps as they fell onto their beds. Emmett had to get back to campus to check in with his coach. He thought he may be in just a smidge bit of trouble since he went against instructions to stay in the locker room, and no one had a clue where he was all night.

Jasper gave Edward an extra set of clothes that he kept in Alice's room, then said goodbye as he left for his own apartment and then to classes.

Edward and I cleaned up the best we could then we left to go to the physical therapy office. It was very slow going down the stairs. Edward, bless his heart, once again offered to carry me, but the last thing I wanted to do was cause him more pain. For the first time I was actually missing my crutches.

When we go into Edward's shiny silver Volvo, I made a mental note to ask him to take me to retrieve my poor lonely truck.

Being that it lasted as long as it did in general, I felt confident that it survived the night mostly whole.

When we got to the office, it had just opened its doors for the morning. The receptionist, of course, told us we had to make an appointment and they had none available that morning. Edward was not taking this very well, but somehow never lost his manners as he tried to convince the receptionist I needed to be seen this morning.

"Bella! Your not supposed to be here until tomorrow, right?" I turned in my chair and saw Jacob come in the front doors. He had a bright smile for me, and I was surprised that he remembered when my appointment was.

Edward turned and saw Jacob sit down next to me. I glanced to see him look a little tense, but then move to stand beside me.

"Is there any way you can take a look at her leg real quick, Jacob?" he asked politely.

Jacob looked at him in surprise; he must have not noticed Edward when he walked in. He looked back him for a moment, then his face seem to darken as his gaze shifted from Edward to me. I could tell he knew we came together. I couldn't imagine why that would matter right now.

"My leg has been numb since I woke up earlier this morning."

Jacob's eyes widened just slightly, but enough to make me a little nervous. "Your whole leg? Like,_ numb_ numb? Or is it tingly like it's asleep?"

I pointed on my leg, which was bare due to the gym shorts I had worn in anticipation. "Just from here, right above my knee, down. Everything from there up is fine. And it's _numb_ numb. Like I can't feel anything."

Jacob tested a few areas himself to verify what I said, and I was glad that his hand didn't stray anywhere near as high as Edward's did earlier. He winced when he lifted my leg slightly to look at the back of my knee, "Awww Bella, you have one heck of a bruise on the back of your knee, did something happen to it recently? Did you fall or hit it against something? And where are your crutches?"

I quickly relayed to him the events of the night before, including the guys that fell on my knee and I made sure to point out Edward carried me for a good while too.

Jacob looked up at him. "That was dumb, man. You and me will need to talk about set-backs in your training because of that."

Edward stayed very still, still standing next to me. "You would have done the same."

Something passed between them, some sort of man-communication. I found it a little annoying. Jacob just nodded tersely, "Yeah, I would have."

I didn't know what to make of that.

He looked back at me and took one of my hands, I tensed in anticipation. This can't be good. I felt Edward tense as well, but I am now thinking it had more to do with Jacob's hand on mine.

"Bella, this is not a really good sign. I don't want you to get worried, but you know how Stacy talked to you about blood clots on your first day?"

I nodded, gulping.

"Well you need to get checked to see if you developed one. The bruise on the back of your knee isn't from the hamstring tear, it's too low. The fact your leg is numb…let's just have the orthopedist check you out, just to be on the safe side."

He saw the tension on my face, and gave me a wide, brilliant smile, "You know, just so you don't go messing up all my hard work or anything."

I tried to smile back, but I think it came out more like a grimace. All I could think was _more surgery_.

Super.

Edward rubbed my back reassuringly while Jacob went to call the referral in and get a new set of crutches for me. I reminded myself to send another big thanks to Charlie for paying my health care until I got out of school.

Jacob fitted me for the crutches and told me to head on over to the orthopedist, which was just a mile down the road. "Now?" I asked him, surprised. It took me two months to get my first appointment with them after the accident.

"Yeah, well, they had an opening this morning. Your lucky day!" Jacob looked from me to Edward, doing some sort of man-talk with his eyes again.

Jacob was lying. Not good.

Edward drove me to the orthopedist office and held the door open as I moved inside and check in. To my surprise, the receptionist had my file ready and told me to come on back. I turned to Edward, "Listen, this may take a while so why don't you go to class and can call you when I am done." He looked unhappy, "Do you want me to leave you? I don't want to invade your privacy."

"No! Its not that, I just don't want you to get your school work all messed up because of me."

Edward gave a smirk, "Lead the way then." I felt him behind me as we followed the nurse to an exam room. I smiled to myself, very relieved. I was hoping he would stay. I needed him, because I had a feeling that this was not going to be good news.

**Hah! Cliffie for you!**

**The good news is I know exactly what is going to happen so I can update soon. You will find out what is wrong with Bella, if Edward has re-injured his shoulder while rescuing her, and why the heck does Edward never worry about missing class?**

**Send me love! Otherwise I am just going to keep lying in my meadow, waiting for my stupid shiny Volvo driver….**


	11. authors note

Another AN

I will update soon I promise! I will try to get a good one entered tonight before bed. But I just had to put a thought in….

For all of us who are impatiently waiting for the next 4 days to glide on by remember this:

**The lights are dimmed, the popcorn sits in your lap forgotten, the soda in your hand nearly crushed by your tense grip and then….**

_**Twilight**_

**flashes onto the movie screen.**

Now, imagine every other sentence during that long-anticipated movie **GONE**…you never heard what Edward said to Bella in the meadow scene…..

Because too many excited girls were SHRIEKING every time he appeared on screen.

Seriously, I am beyond words on how excited I am for this movie. I will be vibrating in my seat and I am going by myself, because no one else my age will understand my obsession and I don't want any distractions.

So please, please for the love of Edward! Remain quiet! I didn't say remain calm because that will be impossible. Just have some respect and bite your lip or pinch your leg…when it comes out on DVD you can shriek/yell/hoot&holler to your hearts content…in your living room.

4 days baby!!!! I will join you in shrieking at the trailers on youtube in the meantime.


	12. Chapter 10

**Ok for real, chapter time!**

**And yes Loulabelle, there is apparently wireless internet access in the meadow! Lol Edward days hi!**

**Disclaimer: I made all that crap up, I don't own anything lol**

Chapter 10

Edward never let go of my hand as we waited for the doctor to enter the exam room. I was surprised again when he came in after less than a minute.

He smiled in greeting, "Hello again Isabella."

"Good morning, Dr. Bowen." I didn't correct him on my name. I really have only seen him three times before this. He glanced at Edward and nodded in greeting, wasting no time for introductions.

He immediately sat on a rolling stool and scooted up to my leg propped up on the table I was sitting on. "So Mr. Black called from the PT center and said your lower leg felt numb." I nodded. It took me a second to realize that Black must be Jacob's last name.

He asked a few questions about when it started and felt around my leg like Jacob had earlier. He looked at the bruise on the back of my knee and then asked me to remove my shoe. I raised my eyebrow, but with Edward's assistance I did as requested. When my sock was removed, Edward and I gasped in shock, but the doctor merely observed calmly, seemingly not surprised at all to see my toes and half of my foot a very unhealthy shade of blue.

Not good. Not good at all.

Edward looked from my face to the doctor's. "What's this mean? Why are her toes that color?"

The doctor didn't answer until after he touched a button near the wall. A nurse came in a fraction of a moment later and he asked her to prepare a surgical room, a CAT scan and an ultrasound machine.

"Surgery! Another surgery?" I shrieked.

Edward sat next to me and held me close as the doctor turned to me. He placed one of his large hands over mine and I tried to listen around the blood pounding in my ears.

"Isabella, you have what is known as Deep Venous Thrombosis. It's a real doozy of a blood clot. It's blocked the main vessel that brings blood to the tissues from your heart."

In a flash, I recalled learning about DVT in physiology class, but talking about it in reference to dogs and then realizing it's you that has it are two different things. I freaked out when I remembered what happened to those dogs.

"You're going to amputate my leg?" I began gasping, feeling my vision tunnel.

I heard the doctor deny it, but I couldn't focus. Between my breathing and my pounding heart I only caught snippets of what Dr. Bowen was saying, "….clot could form in your lungs…quick surgery…recovery time…."

Edward was also speaking; I felt the vibration through his chest as I was firmly pressed against it, but I couldn't make out the words anymore. I couldn't believe this was happening!

I pulled back as my vision blackened completely and nausea threatened to spill my breakfast all over my boyfriend. I felt myself being gently laid back and I remember clinging to Edward's shirt, hearing him call out my name in panic.

"Don't let them take my leg." I meant to yell, but I think it came out more of like a whisper.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The steady, annoying beeping was back. I have heard it before.

I didn't want to open my eyes; I could tell the light was very bright where I was without them being open. I felt an itch on the side of my face, and automatically reached up to scratch it. Then a musical voice filtered through my haze. "No, don't Bella. You have to leave that tube alone."

Tube?

I blinked. The light was awful…but there was my Edward. His angel hair was surrounded by the light and it made him look like he had a halo. His forehead was creased with concern and I reached up to smooth my fingers over the stressed skin.

I think I may have smiled.

He took the hand at his face and held it to his lips.

"You scared the hell out of me."

It was my turn to have the worried face. What did I do? I pondered about it for maybe a full minute, then I remembered.

My leg!

I gasped, realizing that I was in a recovery area identical to the one I woke up in after my last surgery. The tube Edward was referring to was on oxygen tube in my nose. I looked at the hand that Edward wasn't holding and saw an IV tube in the back of my hand as well as a pulse monitor on my index finger. I tried to sit up, reaching for my legs.

"Bella, you shouldn't get up yet."

Shouldn't? Or can't?

I had to know. I started crying. I still couldn't feel anything from the knee down.

Edward's hands fluttered over me, "Don't cry Bella. Does it hurt? I will call a nurse…"

I gripped his arm, "Edward," my throat scratched, "my leg…I told you not to let them take it!" I was getting hysterical.

Edward shushed me and stroked my hair. I couldn't be comforted by his smile, not now.

I beat against his chest weakly and sobbed. He called my name a few times and when I didn't respond he shocked me by grasping my shoulders and kissed me.

He kissed me until I was ready to go back to black out. Luckily I had oxygen.

He released me and before I could think about going back into hysterics he firmly said, "Bella! You are fine! You're leg is fine! They got the clot out and everything went fine!"

I sat, not breathing. Then I gasped and started laughing. I laughed until I cried again. All the while, Edward was looking at me like I was insane. I guess he thought I didn't believe him, because he pulled back the sheet covering my lower body. There they were! Both of my normal-colored legs. I didn't notice anything different, it

s like nothing happened since yesterday. I reached down with a trembling hand and touched my shin, "I can't feel anything." I told Edward. Then I tapped my knee. "Ouch!"

That hurt. And I smiled at that.

Edward just chuckled at my craziness. "The numbed you up so they could remove the clot. They said you should be back to normal by the end of the day. You weren't even supposed to be unconscious for the procedure, but you decided differently apparently." He looked like he was holding back a big laugh.

I blushed, probably more than I ever had in my life.

"In class, all the articles we researched…the dogs had to have their legs amputated."

Edward's laughing calmed down and he looked at me tenderly. "No wonder you were frightened. I wish you would have heard the doctor's explanation before you fell apart."

He looked deep into my now-dry eyes. "You nearly scared me to death when you passed out. The doctor was trying to explain to you how they needed to remove the clot immediately before it went to your lungs… then you collapsed. I thought we were too late."

Edward, the man who saved me time and again and who was such a strong pillar in my life, began to cry. Not the sobbing mess I had been earlier, but just one tear ran down his perfect cheek. That one tear shattered what was left of the walls I had so carefully built around my heart. I knew then I had to tell him how I felt, he deserved that and so much more.

I gently wiped the tear off his slightly rough jaw, "Edward, I…"

"Isabella."

Dr Bowen pulled back the curtain that surrounded my bed and paused for a moment, seeming to realize that he was interrupting something important.

Edward pulled back to make room for my doctor. This guy was not on my top ten list…good things don't happen when I see Dr. Bowen.

He explained about the procedure, how they were able to use the same incision site as my original surgery and remove the clot using an endoscope. I was glad there was not going to be another scar, even a small one. He said they did a CT scan to make sure no other clots had formed in my leg or in my lungs.

"The really good news is that this shouldn't effect your recovery time. You should be able to pick up your physical therapy where you left off. In fact, I am going to recommend some more exercises for you at home. Now that we know you are a risk factor for clots we need to keep that leg moving."

He gave me a prescription for a low dose of anticoagulants and then told me a nurse would be in to take out my IV and I could be released.

"Do you want us to call your father and let him know what happened, Dear?" asked a kind, elderly nurse who came in to help me get dressed while Edward pulled his car to the front door.

Hell no.

"No, thanks. I will call him when I get home." Maybe. That would secure Charlie's one-way ticket from Forks straight to my apartment.

They wouldn't let me walk (ok, hobble) out myself, so Edward pushed me in a wheelchair out to his Volvo. He helped me inside and I was very surprised to see how late it had gotten. It was twilight again. I took a deep breath of not-so-clean city air, feeling a lot better than I thought I would after a day like today.

I was not really paying attention to where we were going until we pulled into the driveway of a small two-story house. I blinked as we pulled up beside the house, "Where are we?"

Edward parked the car before answering me, "My place."

I opened my mouth in a silent "oh". Of course I wanted to see his place, I just didn't think it was going to be tonight.

He read the confusion on my face and smiled, "Look, I know this is a really new thing for us…but I feel…different."

Different?

He continued, using his hands to gesture his frustration as he tried to explain himself.

"On one hand, I feel like I have known you since before we were created…since before anything was created. Its like I have loved you throughout all of time."

I sucked in my breath. He just said he loved me. I tried not to dwell on that and focus on what he was saying.

"On the other hand, when I discover something about you, I remember how little of time we have actually known each other. But to me, it's exciting! It's like Christmas morning."

I opened my mouth to agree, but he held up his hand. "Please, let me finish before you say anything. God, I didn't want to tell you how I felt in the car." He huffed out a small laugh, then searched my face seriously.

"You don't have to say anything back, because that's not why I am telling you all this. But while you were in surgery today, I realized I didn't want to be away from you, even for a second. But we aren't ready yet."

I blurted out before I could stop myself, "Aren't we?"

He cupped my face tenderly, "I know. I want to spend every minute with you, waking or not. I came here because I want to grab a change of clothes and an overnight bag. I wanted to ask you if I could stay at your apartment tonight. But I needed you to understand that I am not expecting anything from you, and I wanted to be honest with my feelings. I want to stay with you for just tonight so I can make sure you are okay."

I bit my lip and looked at my lap, moving away from his hand. "I can take care of myself, I have been for a long time now. And if I need help, there is always Alice or Rosalie or the guys. I don't need you to be my nurse. I don't want to be your burden."

I was fighting hard to keep that wall down, to keep it from closing my heart off to him. But familiar old doubts surfaced and in that moment, my mind was warring with my heart.

But that's all it was, a moment….a silly, stupid moment.

Edward tucked his fingers under my chin and gently lifted my face. He waited until my eyes met his and I froze under the intensity of his golden gaze. I realized that passion could be felt not only through touch, but through sight. With a voice pulled tight with fierceness he said, "I don't know where your thoughts come from sometimes, but you need to remember this: I love you."

He reached his other hand up so they were cupping each side of my face. The heat of my cheeks didn't overpower the warmth of his hands.

"I love you," he repeated, more forceful this time. "I don't know whether you could possibly feel a fraction of what I feel for you, but if you do then I am the luckiest man alive. I am not asking you to reciprocate my feelings, not tonight…not ever if that's the way you feel. But I am asking you to let me stay with you tonight, because I love you and _I need to make sure you are okay_. This is purely a selfish request, Bella. I have to know you will be okay, please."

I couldn't form words if I tried. Now would have been the perfect time to tell him what I wanted to tell him at the hospital, that I loved him with everything that I am. While I doubted his feelings could not even compare to mine, I no longer doubted that he loved me, at least in the same context.

I sniffed and he wiped the tears that trailed over my face and I grabbed one of his strong hands, kissing each finger, the palm, every knuckle. It was all I could do to whisper "Okay."

I thought it was the most inadequate word to encompass everything that I felt in that moment, but that seemed to satisfy him. He smiled brightly and I giggled a little. The tension in the car had lifted considerably, but I knew I couldn't relax until I told him how I felt.

Suddenly, Edward jumped out of his car and came to my side and opened my door.

He held out his hand, "Care for a tour?"

"Sure." He retrieved my crutches and led me up the short steps to the side door. This opened up to a kitchen, smaller than the one at my apartment, but very open and clean. He walked towards an entryway and pointed out the laundry room and half bathroom. The next room was the living room. It was very long and had a wonderful looking fireplace. I always wanted a real fireplace; the one at our apartment was electric and horribly fake. There was a sofa and a loveseat, both with matching maroon couch covers and a baby grand piano took up a good chunk of the living room on the opposite side. There was a small corner entertainment center, but my focus stayed on the shining black piano. Edward saw my appreciative gaze. "A present, from my parents when I moved down here." He ran his hands along the gleaming surface. "Its great to have a piano conveniently at home, but the grand piano on campus had much better sound."

"Will you play for me?"

Edward looked at me, thoughtful. "Not tonight. I am almost ready….just not tonight."

I nodded, not hurt in the least. Good things come to those who wait, right?

He led me to the front entryway and briefly showed me that the formal dining room had been turned into a study area. There were many shelves of books and two desks. One was neatly organized and free of unnecessary clutter. The other had cups, plates, papers and various paint supplies scattered across and around it.

I guessed his roommate was an art major of some sort and Edward confirmed it to be true. "His name is Ben. He is never home…I mean, _never_. He is always somewhere getting inspiration for one project or another. I get checks for his part of the rent and utilities so I am not going to complain." He then gestured to a carpet-covered stairway leading up to the second floor. "The bedrooms are upstairs, did you want to wait down here or can you manage the stairs?"

I scoffed in amusement, "I have three flights of these just to get to my front door. I think I can handle one measly set of stairs."

He looked amused, but just a tad apprehensive. I didn't blame him.

He let me take the lead and stayed right behind me, just in case. At the top he directed me to turn to the left. I moved cautiously into the dark room and he flipped on the light switch.

Then there I was, in the middle of Edward's bedroom….the mystery room that was the background to most of my fantasies since I met Edward. I gulped nervously when I saw the giant four poster bed dominating the whole left side of the room.

Holy Crow.

**Ok that was a another weird place to leave it off, but I am too tired to give it my full focus right now so I decided quitting for the night would be the smart thing to do, before I turn this story into a rated M smut-fest. (hmmmmmm)**

**Oh, and I never had a clot, so I am going by what limited research I have done in a short period.**

**Tomorrow I am in a class alllllllllll day. It's for military wives who want to learn more about what it is that our husband's do and about resources offered by the military. Any military people out there may have heard of LINKS. I recommend it just out of what I heard from other wives, it apparently is a big help. Military life is a whole different ball game from the rest of the world.**

**But hey…if it gets boring I will just jot down ideas for upcoming chapters.**

**Thanks again for all the reviews…they motivate me!**


	13. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The next few weeks passed by in a wonderful blur. Edward stayed that first night and every now and then he would stay overnight again. Those nights were both exhilarating and frustrating. We kept our physical relationship barely on kissing. We both had agreed we weren't ready for the next step and spending nights together made it almost impossible for us to stick to our morals.

I felt closer to him than anyone else in my life, and he reminded me all the time how much he loved me. Every time he whispered those endearments to me, I would open my mouth to repeat them…and then stop. When I thought of expressing (as if words could actually encompass the feeling) how much he means to me, I pictured a totally different scene, something significant and meaningful...not in the front of a car or in my mis-matched bedroom.

I felt a horrible weight when I thought about how he must be feeling. I keep waiting for him to get tired of waiting and just leave. But he never gave a hint that it bothered him. Everyday he showed up to take me to class with a grin on his face and a toe-curling kiss. We kept going to physical therapy appointments together, even after he didn't need to go anymore. He would just sit in the lobby waiting patiently for me. I can't even remember the last time I drove my old truck anywhere.

My physical therapy appointments were getting easier every time and I happily thought of the day sometime soon when I could stop my appointments as well. It was after one of these sessions that Jacob realized that I wasn't going to be there much longer either.

"Hey Bella?" he asked hesitantly.

I looked up from where I was sitting, putting my brace back on. I had a wide smile on my face, anticipating dinner with Edward after this. He seemed to take my expression as encouragement. "Well, I shouldn't really do this…not while I am working and you are my patient. But, you won't be my patient for long…"

I raised my eyebrows as he ran his hand over his face in frustration. I thought I could see a hint of color on his russet skin.

"Well, would be it okay if I called you sometime? Maybe we could hang out…or go to dinner?"

It was my turn to flush. This was just a tad awkward.

"Jacob.."

"Call me Jake."

I gave a small smile, "Jake…I am really flattered. Seriously. But I am…involved."

He kept a smile on his face, but I could tell it was strained, "Edward, right?"

I nodded. "I'm sorry. Not to sound too cliché or anything, but we could still be friends. I mean, you have been there throughout my whole recovery and I would really like it if we could still hang out after I am done."

Jake seemed to brighten after that, "Sure, sure. I don't know if Edward would appreciate us hanging out though."

"Well, I am my own person and will hang out with whoever I want. Besides, you helped Edward too. I am sure he will be fine with it."

Jake helped my get back on my feet, "Well, as a friend I am going to give you a present. I am taking away one of your crutches today."

I gave him a strange look, "How is that a present?" He laughed, "Watch me."

He moved around the area a few times with one of my crutches, "See? It's going to be so much easier for you to get around now. Go on, give it a try."

I wasn't sure about it, but after a few stumbling steps, I got a rhythm going and smiled brightly, "Hey! This really is a lot better!" Jake laughed at my glee. "Heck of a present, right?"

I couldn't help myself, I reached over with my free arm and gave him a hug. He didn't hesistate to out his arms around me as well and he held me for a moment longer than I held him. When I pulled back, he looked intently at me. I swallowed nervously.

"Bella, he better treat you the way you deserve. Because if he doesn't, I am going to make sure you start looking at me the way you look at him."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I just bit my lip, gave him a small smile and moved towards the lobby.

Finals were over! I stepped out into the sunlight and smiled up at the sky. I took a deep breath and laughed out loud. People passing around me may have noticed my behavior, but didn't seem to think twice about. We were all feeling the same way.

I half-walked to my truck, still enjoying my handicap parking right outside class. To be honest, the physics exam could have gone either way, but I really didn't care. I was still riding high of the promise of summer. I took the evening off work to celebrate the end of finals with Edward. Even though we saw each other every day, I still counted the hours down until I could wrap my arms around him again.

Edward still had one more final to go, which is why I am driving "old faithful". He told me we were going out to dinner, but that the location was a surprise. I had no clue where he was taking me. When I asked him how I should dress, he just smiled secretively and told me to talk to Alice.

Not even a session with the mistress of makeup could get me down today.

I made my way into the apartment and yelled out for Alice, "Honey! I'm home!"

"Get in the shower! We need to get started yesterday!" she yelled back from her bedroom.

"Nice to see you too, yeah my day was fine." I muttered to myself, still smiling. It was going to be a good night!

I dropped my bag on my bed and a flash of color caught my eye. I turned and saw the most beautiful bouquet on my desk. It was half a dozen coral colored roses with delicate baby's breath dashed between each one. I moved to the beautiful arrangement, almost afraid to touch them they were so perfect. After closing my eyes and inhaling deeply I giggled out loud. No one had ever sent me flowers before. I saw an envelope on my desk beside of the vase the flowers were nestled in. My name on the front was printed in the most beautiful script, handwritten by Edward. It used to drive me insane that even his handwriting was perfect, but now it just made my heart beat faster.

I opened the envelope and pulled out an off-white sheet of paper. It was thinner than stationary, almost as thin as notebook paper. I unfolded it and found it to be a sheet of music paper, handwritten in Edward's lovely scrawl. The notes made no sense to me, and there was no title written at the top. But there was a signature on the bottom, Edward's.

I wasn't sure what this meant, but I knew that it was big, and I put it safely back into the envelope.

Alice attacked me as soon as I stepped out of the warm shower. I barely had time to wrap a towel around myself before I was done over _big time_. I was plucked, shaved, sanded and buffed. I felt like a refurnished home! Rosalie came in just in time to help Alice attack my hair.

"You still have no idea where he is taking you?" She asked, raising her voice over the hair dryer."

"Not a clue. All I know is tonight is _the_ night."

Suddenly, the hair dryer shut off and there was a clatter as Alice dropped her makeup case. I parted my hair that had fallen around my face and looked for the problem. The problem was my two roommates were standing in front of me with their mouths wide open.

"Um, uh…."

I was waiting for them to make a coherent sentence. Finally, Alice kneeled down and started to pick her cosmetics off the floor. Rosalie set the hair dryer down and kneeled as well, only she kneeled in front of me, looking serious.

"Bella, are you sure you are ready for this step?"

I looked confused, "Of course! I have been waiting for the perfect moment. And I am sure tonight will be it."

Alice still couldn't look at me, she fluttered around the bathroom and I thought I heard her muttering, "Dear Lord….not ready for this conversation…"

I huffed, "I don't get it, this is what you guys wanted, isn't it?"

Alice almost dropped the makeup again, "Ohmygod!"

"Alice! What's wrong with you? Its not that big of a deal, Edward has already done it."

Rosalie's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

"He has? In…in front of you?" she whispered.

I cocked my head to the side, "Well yeah. How else is there to do it? Tonight, it's finally my turn!"

Rosalie sat had on her rear on the bathroom floor. "Oh, Bella. We thought…I mean…I know you are innocent and all but….oh damn."

Alice grabbed her hair in frustration, and I believe it's the first time I have ever seen her hair messy. "It's all my fault! I should have had the talk with her. Now she thinks that sex is nothing but a big nasty…"

"Alice!" I realized where this conversation had been. I felt my face light on fire. I was ready to grab my crutch and leave the apartment, no matter I was still in a towel and my half-dried hair billowed around my head like a brown disaster. "This isn't about sex!"

Rosalie blinked, "What the devil are you talking about then?"

"Edward told me he loved me, and tonight I think I am ready to say it back."

Alice placed her hand over her heart and let out a big breath. Rosalie started giggling, sounding almost hysterical…then they both were doubled over laughing.

I pouted a little, crossing my arms angrily. "Well I am glad that my love life is so entertaining."

After a moment of gasping and wiping tears Alice patted my head, "Honey, I am so happy for you. Really. Me and Rosie have been waiting a long time for this day. We thought you had something really backwards!"

Rosalie started brushing my hair, "To be perfectly honest, we are not that surprised. We could see that you two are crazy about each other. And if he has already said it, and you really mean it, then go for it!"

With those words of wisdom, it was back under the dryer.

What felt like hours later, I was pulled in front of the full length mirror in Alice's room. I hardly recognized myself. I tried to see myself through Edward's eyes, trying to see what he would see when we were finally together tonight.

My hair was mostly down, curled locks flowing around my shoulders and down my back. A few locks were pulled back loosely from my face, and pieces of the baby's breath from my bouquet were woven through my hair. My dress hung around my neck and draped over my body softly. The black halter dress came down right at my knees. Alice didn't argue with me when I told her I was wearing my black Mary-Jane slippers, and not her three inch heels. The only thing that ruined my look was my big black brace and my crutch. I frowned at that. I might have to do something with them later.

I turned to the girls waiting anxiously behind me. I gave them a smirk, "You guys do good work!"

They squealed and high-fived. Alice handed me a black silk shawl and a matching black handbag. Thankfully, the bag had a strap that buttoned so I could snap it to my crutch.

Crafty, huh?

We moved out to the living room to see Jasper and Emmett watching some sort of game on TV. When Alice cleared her throat, they glanced up at us and their mouths dropped open. Slowly, they stood up from the couch. Jasper whistled appreciatively and Emmett age himself a shake, "Damn Bells. Edward is a lucky man."

I ducked my head, "Thanks guys."

Rosalie clapped her hands together, "Ok Emmett! Time to go to work!"

Emmett blinked and smiled, "Right! Okay, ready to go Bells?"

He grabbed his keys off the coffee table. "Emmett's coming with me? Edward's not coming here?"

Alice grinned, "No, he is meeting you there and Emmett volunteered to be the one to drive you. Rose and I would have done it, but we were accused of being the type of girls who might stick around and peep in on you."

Rosalie nodded, "And that would be right, we totally would have done it."

I believed them.

I started to leave the apartment when I remembered something, "Wait! I need to get something." I went back into my room and grabbed the envelope with the music in it, placing it into my small purse.

Emmett was blessedly quiet the whole ride there. I don't think I was capable of keeping up a conversation if I tried. When we turned onto the main street of campus, I looked questionably at Emmett. He just grinned, "Not getting anything out of me Bells."

He pulled up outside the student theater. Since finals were over, no shows were playing and there were no other cars out tonight. Emmett helped me out of the car and held open the door to the theater. Careful of my hair, he leaned down and kissed me on top of my head, then he was gone.

I took a deep breath and made my way inside.

**OOOOOOk here is another chapter, thanks to those of you who did review, but they have slowed down…I'm so sad *sniff sniff* Loulabelle, you don't count lol.**

**Ok so here is a little diddy for you, I was going to go to the midnight premiere of Twilight last night…but due to fear of crazy Tweens and a packed theater (there is only one in this entire crowded town) I held out and I will be seeing it in less than three hours!**

**But, here is the story I am sticking to if anyone asks: I stayed home last night instead of going to the premiere because I wanted to get another chapter out for you guys. Does that inspire a review? Eh? The next chapter will hopefully be the bestest but I wanted the scene to be its own separate chapter. Very important!**


	14. AN: The movie!

**Ok, so I am sitting here in my living room EXHAUSTED! Why? Because I was biting my nails, clenching my jaw and gripping the chair for two hours trying to control myself! That was the best two hours I ever spent in a theater..and I went by myself!**

**I made a good decision waiting to go to the 1:30pm show. The theater was pretty full, but not really, it was perfect! I didn't even have to wait in line….except to get my strawberry slushie.**

**I got there 30 minutes early to ensure I wouldn't have to wait in line, but that really wasn't necessary. The shows after school have been sold out for two days, but I was a smart cookie and went while school was still going on.**

**The people in the theater were awesome. I loved hearing about how excited everyone was while I was tapping my feet, waiting for the lights to dim. Usually when I go to movies, the previews are my favorite part. I love seeing the movies coming out later in the year, very exciting. Today, I thought I was going to scream if I had to see one more. Don't get me wrong, they were cool and everything but come on! Finally, the lights dimmed and the movie started. There was some mild clapping from a couple of people then, but other than that everyone was VERY respectful! I was surprised!**

**I mean, there were sighs, gasps and maybe a couple of awww's going on, but to be honest, I was like that too. The movie was undisturbed by screaming Tweens. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!**

**The soundtrack played out exactly how I thought it would, the songs I listened to fit in exactly how I pictured it in my head…hah! The baseball scene was one of my favorites….hands down!**

**I am not going to say anything else on here cause I know a lot of you haven't seen it yet. If you want to ask anything just PM me. All I know is that I will be spending a lot of time at that theater the next few weeks…and I will be counting down the day that the DVD comes out….awwww man I can't wait!**

**Oh, and I didn't cry! Yay! I felt like it though, it was just so great to see my imagination from the book displayed on screen.**

**Thank you Catherine, Rob, Kristen…all the other cast and crew and ESPECIALLY:**

**Stephanie Meyers!!!! We love you for bring us our dreams!**

**Oh….and I am writing the next chapter tonight! : )**


	15. Chapter 12

**I own nothing, not the book and certainly not the awesomely fantastic movie I can't wait to see again! **

**But I do have my own imagination, a little bit…and here it is!**

Chapter 12

My footsteps were even more unsteady than usual. It didn't help that the entryway to the theater was very dark. I moved along the direction of the seating area. The theater could be used for plays, concerts or movies. I knew from being here before that when they showed films, a screen would lower over the stage.

I saw two doors ahead, one would take me to the lower level seating and one would take me onto the stage directly. I didn't need to guess which door to take, there were coral rose petals strewn in front of the door leading to the stage. I could see a flickering light coming from the small windows on the doors. I hesitated for a moment, thinking there was a movie playing after all. I moved up to the swinging door as quietly as possible and peeked through. My breath caught on the scene laid out in front of my wide eyes.

There was Edward, in the middle of the large wooden stage. I drank in his figure that was softly bathed in the light of dozens of white candles that surrounded the stage. He was dressed in an elegant tuxedo, the black contrasting to his brilliant white skin. His bronze hair was the same as always, impossibly haphazard and amazingly sexy.

He seemed to be biting his lip, pacing back and forth in front of a large black piano set in the middle of the stage, stopping occasionally to glance at his watch. There were larger candles burning on top of the polished instrument and more coral roses lying next to them. I could feel my eyes burning from tears. It was the single most beautiful memory I will ever have, that I was sure of.

Since he hadn't seen me yet, I stepped back and took a moment to compose myself. I looked down at my dress, checking for any creases or stray pieces of lint. I stared at my brace, hating it for off-setting the romantic look I wanted to present to Edward. I bit my lip for a moment, then nodded to myself. I set my crutch aside and put one hand against the wall for support. I carefully reached down and pulled the Velcro straps holding my brace on, letting it fall to the carpeted floor. I remembered to take my black clutch with me and I took a few limping steps to push open the door.

The door made no noise as it opened, so Edward did not see me standing on the stage in the open doorway. I shuffled forward carefully, ignoring the dull twinge in my knee. I felt incredibly unstable without my brace and I haven't even tried walking before now without my crutch, but I wanted to be as perfect as possible for Edward. In the weeks that we have known each other, he has helped me boost my self confidence to a level that it has never been before. But I still felt vulnerable and unsure, until Edward stopped his pacing and looked at me.

His lips stayed slightly parted as he stared over me. I could feel his eyes make their path from my hair, all the way down to my slippers. The look on his face could almost be described as painful, it was that intense. His eyes were excited and he seemed unable to draw a steady breath. I stood there for an endless amount of time, wanting both to stay under the warmth of his approval and to run headlong into his visibly trembling arms.

He still looked in a daze as he took one slow step towards me.

"Isabella," he whispered so low I could barely hear him. He said my name like he had found something that had been lost to him, or maybe more like he was blind all his life and he just saw the most brilliant sunset nature had created. I felt adored, cherished and loved. I could feel my own face reflecting back to his all the emotions pouring through me in that moment.

He took one more step to me and I instinctively moved to meet him. Lost in my daze, I had forgotten that I was standing without any support. My knee buckled when I tried to take a step, but Edward was there in an instant, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me upright. I inhaled deeply against his tuxedo jacket, smelling the subtle cologne and intoxicating scent that was all Edward.

He looked down at me, "Where are your crutches? Why aren't you wearing your brace?"

I smiled sheepishly up at him, "I left them in the hall. I wanted it to be perfect. I wanted to look good for you."

He held me with one strong arm and tucked a loose curl behind my ear with his other hand. "_You_ are perfect. So beautiful…you took my breath away Bella."

He scooped me gently up into his arms and placed me on the bench seat at the piano. He eyes never left me, looking deep into my gaze at first, then lower…watching his fingers trail down my bare arms…as is he couldn't believe I was real.

I heated under his admiration, and greedily drank in the site of him. Everyday he surprised me on how much more than perfect he could be. He saw me flush and smiled, lightly kissing each heated cheek. "So lovely…" he whispered against my ear.

I rubbed the back of his neck softly, "Edward…all this, the flowers…everything is wonderful. Thank you. But how did you do all of this?"

He kissed my knuckles and smiled mischievously. "Well, I arranged something with one of my professors. I helped out during the finals and she let me borrow the theater for a night."

I blinked at him. "Helped with the finals? Didn't you have to take them too?"

He shook his head, "I sort of haven't had to do much this past semester, its more for show on my transcripts than anything. My music professors told me that they can't teach me anymore than I already know, so I help out when I can while they introduce me to some people who might help me with my career."

I was shocked. I figured he was talented since he could always skip class and somehow never get behind, but I never dreamed he was that talented. "So, your professors can't teach you anything, because you are _that_ good?" He shrugged, "That's what they told me."

"Why haven't I heard you play yet?"

"That's what tonight is for. I wasn't ready for you to hear me play because I was writing something that wasn't finished until recently."

I smiled, excited about finally hearing him play. "Will you play for me now?"

He grinned, "Absolutely. Did you happen to bring the envelope with you?"

I opened my purse and handed him the sheet music. "This is the song you wrote?"

With another nod he sat down beside of me on the bench and set the music on the piano stand. He took a breath and poised his fingers over the keys. I felt like my nerves were drawn tight, waiting for the first chord to sing through the theater.

As he began to play, I felt my control slowly slipping. His fingers moved so quickly, so gracefully. I felt transfixed by the movements they made. I glance briefly at Edward's face and saw he had his eyes closed, not relying on the music in front of him at all. I followed his lead and closed my eyes as well. As the hauntingly beautiful melody swept over me, I recognized it almost immediately. He has hummed this melody before, usually when I am nodding off to sleep in his arms. I heard it the first time the night we slept together in the hay.

I felt tears slip out from under my closed eyelids. As the last note hung in the air, I almost sobbed. It felt like I had died, but in the most beautiful way.

It was silent except for our breathing. I felt Edward gently wipe a tear from my cheek, and I opened my eyes to meet his, so close to my face. I couldn't form any words right then if I had tried, so I poured my soul out into a kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and moved my lips restlessly over his. He returned my kiss with equal fervor and we pulled apart reluctantly to gasp for air. He looked into my eyes intensely, and I returned his gaze. There was no hesitation, no doubt whatsoever as I whispered, "I love you."

He didn't smile, but I could feel the emotion pouring off of him as he put both of his hands on either side of my face and kissed me again. He whispered how he loved me against my trembling lips. When he pulled back, I saw the candlelight made the wetness in his eyes glimmer, and I knew mine looked the same.

I smiled then, finally feeling complete for the first time in my life. I licked my swollen lips and almost laughed when Edward growled, watching my movements. I swallowed nervously, "That was beautiful, Edward. What are you going to call it?"

He reached for the paper and took a pen resting on the stand. I watched as he scrawled the title on it and handed me the paper.

_**Bella's Lullaby**_

Fresh tears rolled down my face and I gasped. He gently took my free hand into his and spoke softly, "It _is_ beautiful….you inspired it. I have been writing it since the first say I saw you."

I carefully set the music aside and buried myself into the crook of his neck. I felt him rub my back and he asked concerned, "Bella, are you alright?"

I sniffed, trying not to ruin his suit. "I wish…I wish there was someway I could tell you how much I feel for you."

He pulled back from me and smiled as I wiped my tears away. My makeup was probably long gone by now.

"Bella, you just told me you loved me!"

I shook my head, "I have always loved you. I just couldn't tell you until it felt perfect, and I still don't think that even comes close to how I feel. I was so afraid you would think I didn't care as much about you as you care about me."

He stopped my with another brief kiss, "You didn't have to tell me. I knew that you loved me. It can't be nearly as much as I love you, that's just not possible sweetheart."

I started to protest but he spoke again, "You tell me everyday. By being with me, I feel complete…whole. I feel like I am who I am supposed to be with you. The thought of not being with you is like I don't exist. That is love Bella; that is what you give me. You are so precious to me, you are my life now."

I refused to cry anymore. I could hardly remain upright under the emotions I was already swamped by. Before he could say anymore, I trailed my fingers down his throat and slowly pulled on the black blow of his tuxedo. I could feel his eyes dart over my face. After the bow was undone, I started undoing the top button of his crisp white shirt.

"Bella," he whispered.

I ignored him and released two more buttons from their holes. He gasped at the feel of my fingers against his exposed skin. He reached up and grasped my hands into his own, "What's happening, Bella?" he sounded pained.

I bit my lip again, and he released one of my hands to rub his thumb against the abused flesh. I reached for all of my strength and kissed him again, this time letting my lips stay parted. It was my turn to gasp as I felt his tongue dart past my lips. I felt for his other buttons and somehow managed to get all of them undone...eventually. In the meantime, Edward was grasping at my hair, holding my head back as he kissed his way from my mouth, along my jaw, below my ear and down my neck. He stopped and feasted on my collar bone for several long moments as I breathed heavily. His other hand couldn't stay in one place, moving along my back and down my bare leg and almost everywhere between.

He pulled back for a moment as I pushed his shirt and jacket off in one motion. Candle light flickered on his perfectly sculpted chest. I hungrily took in every inch of new flesh with my eyes, then leaned down to kiss his smooth skin right above his madly beating heart. He hissed and sat back, not taking my eyes off of him as I reached behind my neck and fumbled with the halter tie of my dress. He halted my movements by pulling me solidly against his bare skin. I ran my hands down his back, feeling the rippling of muscles under my fingers. He moved my hair off of my shoulder and his lips branded my exposed skin over and over, igniting a new fire inside of me. My fingers pressed into his back impatiently. "Bella," his whispered again, "we shouldn't do this."

I used my hands to guide his face back to mine. "Yes, we should." I protested.

He moaned, kissing me and trying to talk at the same time, "This isn't what I planned…I have a picnic…and you…you deserve better than…you deserve a warm bed….champagne…"

I pulled back from him, both of our eyes half closed from desire, "This is what I want. This is more than I ever imagined. I love you, I want you."

His jaw clenched and he stood up. For a brief, terrifying moment I thought he was walking out of the theater. I stared at his retreating back, but he kneeled at a basket on the far corner of the stage and laid out a quilt on the polished wood next to the burgundy curtains billowing down from the ceiling. He came swiftly back to me, and as he stood next to me I looked back directly into his eyes and untied the halter tie on my dress. His eyes turned to black and he scooped me up into his arms. He walked over to the blanket and gently laid me down. I sighed as his heated skin pressed against mine and he whispered, "I love you, my Bella."

The candles made shadows dance over us as I gave Edward all of my love that I had, in both my body and soul.

**SURPRISE! : ) This was for all my loyal readers out there! I hadn't planned on it taking this direction, but it just seemed right! I don't know about anyone else out there but I have a firm idea of what Bella's Lullaby sounds like from the book…and its not Carter Burkwell's version. Don't get me wrong, he made one really pretty song, but when I think of Bella's Lullaby I think of 'River Runs in You' by Yiruma. To me it sounds more romantic and more lullaby-ish. **


	16. Chapter 13

**Okay, so the last chapter was kind of a surprise for me too! I didn't intend to carry the story to that level, but hey….go with your Muse, right? (haha I love that band...sorry for the corny reference).**

**Well I think I am going to wrap this story up, then maybe start one where the Cullens are vampires. Those are always my favorite anyways.**

**Anyways, I hope you are still enjoying this story!**

**Disclaimer….nope, still not mine. At least I tried.**

Chapter 13

I laid in Edward's strong arms, both of us wrapped up in the large quilt. The candles were almost completely burned out, and the empty theater was getting gradually darker. The floor wasn't exactly the softest thing to lay on, but in that moment there was no where else I would rather be.

Edward's fingers were tracing lazy patterns on my bare back and arms, stopping occasionally to play with my hair. We hadn't said anything in quite a while, so I was almost startled when I felt him chuckle. I raised my head up off his chest and grinned down at him while leaning on my elbow, "You know, humor isn't exactly the reaction I was picturing after what we just did."

He smiled sleepily back up at me, "I was just thinking how I _really_ had not planned on using the blanket in this capacity tonight." I laughed with him, "Well you sure came prepared for someone who wasn't expecting this."

He shrugged, but color dusted his cheeks. He remembered the protection he had carried in his wallet.

Finally! I had made _him_ blush.

"Well, I knew eventually we would come to this point…I would be lying if I said I haven't been hoping for it for a long time. I just never dreamed it would be you who made the decision on when."

I ducked my head, remembering my boldness this evening.

He lifted my face with gentle fingers under my chin, "Regrets?" he whispered.

I shook my head and kissed him, hinting at the passion that still stirred within me. He responded in kind and tangled his hands in my now-disheveled hair. I pulled back reluctantly, "Never, I will never regret tonight."

As we looked deep into each other's eyes, a lock of my hair fell loose from where it was pinned and a piece of baby's breath fell onto Edward's face. We laughed lightly, then harder as we heard his stomach growl.

"So, should we check out the picnic you brought?"

He tucked my hair back into place and then moved to stand and pull his tuxedo pants back on. While I frowned at the covering of his perfectly sculpted form, I enjoyed the effect of just-shirtless Edward. Pale skin rippled over the muscles in his back, contrasting with the black trousers hanging loosely on his hips.

It took all my willpower not to get up and grab for him again.

He came back with the whicker basket. "I _did_ go through all the trouble of packing all this food, we might as well put it to good use."

I sat up wrapping the quilt underneath my arms like I would a bath towel, sore…but in an almost incredible way. I smiled, thinking of the talk I had with Alice and Rosalie. The last time I was in a bath towel, I was telling them how I wasn't even thinking about sex.

Okay, so apparently tonight was _the_ night after all!

We snacked on the fruit and cheese Edward had packed in the basket, forgoing the main dish of chicken until we could get to a microwave. He leaned towards me to rub a piece of strawberry over my bottom lip, smiling seductively. After I took the fruit into my mouth, I made his eyes darken as I ran my tongue over my lower lip…very slowly.

His mouth landed on mine forcefully. I could taste the fruit on his tongue as it mixed with the taste in mine. I moaned softly and he held his hand between my shoulder blades, supporting me as he laid me back onto the floor. He braced his arms on either side of me, carefully kept his weight off me so I was able to breathe and run my hands over his chest. I couldn't believe how open I was being with him! I never thought tonight would lead to this, and I never thought I would feel so comfortable with a man. With Edward, it was like I was another person; a better, more confident person.

I was lost in the rekindled passion, although I wasn't sure it ever dimmed at all for either of us. I felt the blanket fall open slightly and I moved my leg up to wrap around his waist. And of course, it was my bad leg.

I gasped against his mouth and immediately dropped it back to the floor. He stiffened and pulled back, "What? Did I hurt you?"

I chuckled lightly trying to reassure him, "In a way…you distracted me so I forgot I shouldn't be moving my leg in certain ways. He smiled smugly then began to move down my body. I bit my lip, still smiling as he kept his eyes on mine. He reached my knee, slightly bent, and pulled away the little bit of quilt still draping over my leg. He supported himself on one hand, while running the other hand slowly from the tips of my toes to the top of my thigh, then back to rest against the outside of my knee. Goosebumps appeared along my flesh as he moved his face right next to my bare knee. His eyes closed and I felt his warm breath tickle me. My hands clenched as his pressed his lips against my knee for a long moment. He then slowly rubbed his rough cheek against my smooth skin before returning to kiss it again. My breath moved in and out unsteadying as his eyes popped back open and he smiled against me. He gave me the sexiest wink and murmured, "Feeling better?"

I shook my head, my mind stuck in a lust-induced fog "Not even close," I whispered huskily.

His smile widened, but he sighed regretfully. "We should pack up and make our way out of here. I plan on getting you to a real bed at some point."

I didn't ever want to leave. I wanted to relive this night forever. Time could stop now and I would be fully content.

But I knew our luck with privacy couldn't last too much longer.

I tried not to be self-conscious as I dressed, but I could feel Edward's eyes on me the entire time. He got dressed as well, but left off his tie and the first few buttons on his white shirt remained undone.

Holy Crow.

For the past several weeks that we have been together, I would see him and think _"This is it... he can't get anymore dazzling than he is right now."_

I was wrong, so wrong. This was a whole different level of dazzle.

He turned with the basket and blanket in his hands and saw my hungry expression. He laughed and shook his head, "I will run these out to the car real quick. You stay right there…and try to behave yourself."

I would like to say I refused to blush, but all I could hope for was that the dimming candles hid it well. He was still chuckling to himself as he went out the swinging stage door.

I looked around me and sighed, taking in the romantic atmosphere one more time. I breathed deep to inhale the wonderful lingering scent of Edward combined with melting candles and rose petals. And lastly, I closed my eyes and remembered the sweet melody he played for me. _My lullaby_ I reminded myself, smiling.

I didn't know Edward had come back into the room until he spoke.

"You are….so incredibly beautiful." His voice sounded strained, breaking slightly over his words.

I smiled over at him, watching the candle light flicker over his features and set the color of his hair ablaze. "I think you are the one who is beautiful."

He just shook his head at me and moved to the wall to turn on one small light. It was a tiny spotlight that shone down directly in the middle of the stage, shining on the piano. I saw him disappear behind one of the curtains and after a moment a soft melody twirled through the empty theater. When he came back to the stage, he walked around and blew out all the candles. Finally, he returned to me and scooped me up into his arms. He was right about one thing, when his shoulder healed he hardly ever put me down…always finding an excuse to hold me in his strong embrace.

And I couldn't find a reason to complain.

The music flowed around us as he moved towards the lighted area of the stage and then began swaying gently with me cradled against him. Part of me wished I could think clearly enough to absorb the words that were accompanying the song, but another part of me didn't care what they were. Words seemed inadequate and unimportant in conveying the intensely romantic feeling we had created in that moment.

We continued to slowly 'dance', not needing to say anything. Edward gracefully kept me tucked against him, moving with the slow tempo of the song and smiling down into my face. I wrapped my arms around his neck and returned his gaze lovingly. At some point, we realized that the song had ended, but we were still dancing. Edward moved to place his lips softly on my forehead.

We paused on our way out to let me collect the roses sitting on the piano and my beautiful lullaby. It was something that would be forever framed on our bedroom wall. Even as dozens of years passed in wonderful bliss I still remembered that night…and those memories made our love for each other glisten like that light of all those candles, and our hearts sing like the melody he lovingly composed for me.

**For the end song, I couldn't imagine anything but Iron and Wine's song Flightless Bird, American Mouth…you know…the one during the prom scene at the end of the movie (as if you didn't already have the soundtrack…hah!) I absolutely loved this song from the moment I heard it and I think Kristen Stewart did a great job picking it out.**

**I seriously think that this is it. I will post an epilogue, but I think I have run the course of this story. It has all the parts I dreamed of and I think I have carried it to a good point. What do you think? Did you like the way it ended? I will post an epilogue soon! Thanks!**


	17. Chapter 14 Epilogue

**Final Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot idea. Thanks for letting me borrow the people! ******

**Oh, and check out my profile, it has some links to some editing I did with Twilight pictures.**

Chapter 14

Epilogue- 1 and a half years later

My foot tapped restlessly. I was very nervous for multiple reasons.

First, I was graduating college. I was about to step out into the real world, leaving the comfortable familiarity of schoolwork, classes and predetermined schedules.

Second, my wedding was only a few weeks away. I was getting married to the most perfect person in the world. I was soon to be Mrs. Edward Cullen….I couldn't believe it! I glanced down at my engagement ring. It was a beautifully cut single diamond set in a platinum band and it sparkle underneath the lights in the student theater. I looked around at the sea of faces surrounding me. All the graduating students wore black cap and gowns with different colored tassels, based on your major. Since it was a winter graduation, the group was smaller than it would have been if I was graduating in the spring, but that also meant we were expected to give a small speech when we accepted our diploma.

Which brings me to my third reason for being nervous public speaking and….I was wearing heels.

Alice insisted on dressing me for graduation. She knew if I had a choice I would have worn a t-shirt and jeans under my gown. No one would really see anything anyways, what did it matter?

So I was wearing a sleeveless black cocktail style dress with matching 2-inch heels. My black pea coat was with Edward, who had to sit with everyone else in the family section. Despite my protests, I was made to sit with the rest of the graduates in a separate section of the theater. I turned slightly in my seat, looking over my shoulder. I had been trying for several minutes to locate Edward, but there were just too many people.

When I felt the paper I had written my speech on crumple under my clenched fingers, I realized I needed to calm down…fast. The last guest speaker was winding down her seemingly endless talk. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine Edward's hand on mine. I pictured the night he asked me to marry him, only a short year ago, a smile already forming on my lips.

_Everyone was out to dinner, celebrating Edward's graduation. He was still wearing his dark blue suit but had shed his tie and undone the top few buttons. I couldn't stop staring at him. I watched his face light up and his laughter boomed across the room at something Emmett said. He turned to explain the story behind the joke to his mother and father. I still couldn't get over how young and attractive they both were! Edward had his father's fine features, but his mother's eyes and hair color. I thought it was a shame they only had one child, when they could have produced a whole line of perfectly featured children._

_I was lucky to snag the one they had._

_Edward turned to me and gave me the sweetest, softest smile. I returned it, "Having fun?" I asked. He grabbed my hand and I watched the light shine on his new silver watch. It was a graduation present from me. I had it engraved on the back:_

'_Enough for forever. All my love, Bella'_

_He had tears running down his face when I gave it to him._

"_I have never been happier," he responded to my question._

_Most of us lingered over dinner, with Edward's parents swapping embarrassing stories with Emmett and Rosalie. Edward reddened when his mother mentioned a temper tantrum he had in the middle of the mall when he was three._

_Emmett apparently had one to match that, "Oh yeah? Let me tell you about how Jasper almost got his butt kicked by Edward! He pretended to hit on Bella when it looked like Edward wasn't going to make his move for her himself…."_

_I turned to look at Jasper, only to realize he and Alice had left. I looked to Edward, "Where did they go?"_

_He just shrugged and I let it go._

_After we dropped his parents back off at the hotel, Edward asked if I would come with him back to his house. We had been spending a lot of time there, since he had the most privacy…and the bigger bed._

_The night was thick and cold as we walked in through the side door. He took off my coat then ran his hands over my bare arms. My strapless red dress left a lot of skin exposed, and Edward had promised to kiss every inch of that skin. My hair was piled up on my head in a thick mass of curls, and I was thankful of that as his breath moved across the nape of my neck and then behind my ear. I turned around and face him, hunger evident in both of our eyes. His lips burned across mine, teasing me further. I wanted no more of that, I wrapped my arms around his neck and slanted my mouth over his, sweeping my tongue against his. He moaned, but didn't break the kiss as he swept me up into his arms. Even though I had long ago gotten rid of my brace and crutches, he still carried me whenever he could. He did so now, taking us quickly up the flight of stairs leading to his bedroom. When he set me on my feet, we were just inside the bedroom entryway…too far from the bed in my opinion. I grabbed his hand and started to lead him to my goal. _

_I turned back and looked questionably at him when I felt resistance. He gave me my smile…the smile that curls my toes…the smile I fell in love with. He put one hand on my bared shoulder, caressing lightly, and one hand on my lower back. He then slowly moved me backwards until I felt the cool glass from the bedroom window against my back. He didn't say anything, just deeply stared into my eyes, then turned me to face the window. _

_The window overlooks the small backyard, usually pitch black at night. Tonight, it was glowing. I gasped at the pure radiance of hundreds of candles inside sparkling glass votives scattered through the yard. I cried when I read what the candles were arranged in:_

_Will You Marry Me?_

_My hand flew to my mouth, and that reminded me to breath. My breath fogged the window slightly, and the candles blurred in my tear filled vision. I turned to Edward, only to see that he was now down on one knee, holding a small black velvet box…with the most exquisite ring inside. _

"_Bella, be with me? Forever?" His voice was husky with emotion, and a single tear fell down his cheek._

_I sank to my knees as well, grabbed his face between my hands and kissed the tear away. I moved to his lips and felt him wrap his arms around me. But then he pulled back suddenly, "Wait…is that a yes?"_

_I laughed and cried at the same time, "Of course! Forever…"_

_We made love that night and didn't sleep until the light of breaking dawn shone across our intertwined bodies._

I sighed at the memory, much calmer. Alice and Jasper had helped Edward set up the candles that night, and to thank them they were made our best man and maid of honor. Their wedding was in the spring of next year, not too long before Rosalie and Emmett's.

I had turned most of the wedding plans over to my two best friends, being that my mother was still MIA, but with the day growing closer my tension increased.

I required Edward to be around to calm me down…a lot. He was okay with that.

My heartbeat picked up as my section stood. We were supposed to line up single file next to the stage, and then walk up one at a time onto the stage and get our diploma and make our speech. I eyed the microphone warily. I had managed to avoid all forms of public speaking up until this point. As I approached the stage, my face was flaming already. Part of it was nerves of course, but the other part is remembering the night Edward and I spent along on this stage.

"Isabella Marie Swan. Bachelor of Science, Animal Science and Bachelor of Science, Zoology. Also, a minor in Genetics." The dean called over the microphone.

I blinked out of my memories and took the first step onto the stage…and stumbled.

There wasn't anyway to hope that no one saw that, I just comforted myself by being thankful I didn't fall and concentrated on keeping it that way as I made my way across the stage. I reached the dean and took my diploma in one hand and shook his hand with the other. "Congratulations." He smiled and ushered me to stand in front of the microphone. I stood wide-eyed looking over the crowd. I felt a knot form in my throat and I hastily unfolded the speech crumpled in my hand. I blinked down at it, horrified to see that almost all the words had been smudged from the continuous abuse I had inflicted upon the paper all evening. I looked back to the sea of faces, as if something to say would magically appear in front of me. I started to feel very lightheaded and that made me panic, thinking of passing out in front of hundreds of my peers and total strangers. Just as I had resigned to the fact that this would end badly…Edward stood up.

He was crammed in between people near the back of the family seating. He stood straight up, and smiled at me…looking like a perfect piece of art displayed in the middle of a seated crowd. A lot of people turned in their seats to gawk at the man just standing there, but he didn't take his loving gaze off of me.

I felt my lips turn up slightly. I didn't blink, didn't take my eyes off of him for a second. I dropped my useless paper to the floor and licked my lips.

"Everyone says that college will be the best years of your life. I am not so sure about that." I swallowed the lump in my throat, making my voice stronger.

"I had nothing to compare this life to. Before I came here, I wasn't living…I was merely existing. My dad took me in and gave me everything he had and I will always be grateful for that and I love him very much. But it was just recently that I started actually living. In a way, Bella Swan was born here. I started out on my own and thought I was content. Then I met the two most wonderful girls, my best friends. Alice and Rosalie adopted me and made me a part of their family. For the first time I had two sisters and two brothers and I felt a part of something. Still, I thought I was content_._

"But my heart didn't start beating until the day I met the love of my life."

I saw Edward grin and I returned it.

"I limped into his life, and by some miracle he didn't let me leave. These past couple of years have been wonderful, and as far as I am concerned…they are the _only_ years I have ever really lived.

However, I don't think they will be the best years of my life. I think the best is yet to come. Soon I will be married to a man who has no idea how much I really love him. We will move to San Diego and I will pursue a career at the San Diego Zoo. My future husband will continue to astound the world with his wonderful music, and my past and future families will stay with my heart no matter where we go."

I poured all my love into my gaze directly at Edward. "Thank you…for my life."

I quickly walked down the steps off the stage, narrowly avoiding a spill.

The applause was embarrassing, even though they clapped for every graduate.

After the last student gave her speech the dean returned to the microphone, "Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the graduating class of the College of Agriculture and Life Science at North Carolina State University."

Friends and family stood up and cheered as my fellow classmates and I moved our tassels to the side and then tossed out caps into the air. I hugged a classmate or two and then pushed my way through the crowd, looking for Edward's bronze hair like a beacon in the night. He reached me halfway down the crowded aisle. I laughed as he lifted me up into his arms and spun me around. After giving me a hard but chaste kiss he pressed his mouth against my ear, "I am so proud of you. I love you Bella."

I pulled him tight against me, "I love you too."

I was pulled away by another set of arms. I gasped in surprise, "Dad!"

Charlie beamed down at me, dressed in his old but finest Sunday suit. "Surprise honey!"

"I didn't think you could make it!" I felt tears trickle down my cheeks.

He turned and pointed up the aisle and I saw Esme and Carlilse smiling and waving at me, their arms around each other's waists. "Edward's parents brought me in as sort of a graduation present for you. Real nice folks."

I didn't think my heart could be any fuller than it was at that moment.

I was passed around for hugs and kisses but my hand never left Edward's. As we walked out of the building into the bright afternoon, he turned and smiled down at me. I didn't feel any sadness at leaving my college life behind. I am bringing the best part of my life here with me to my future. As the years passed we often came back to Raleigh to walk around campus, hand-in-hand, remembering the start of our lives. They were wonderful years of course, but they were not nearly the best. Each year I was with Edward and our new family was better than the last, and I will always remember the day I fell into his life…and started mine.

**The End.**

**That's it! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I had to give a speech for my graduation, and I included a little ditty about my boyfriend/fiancé too, but nothing as dramatic. And alas, I did not score some fancy job with a zoo and my husband is not a master composer…but he is a very very hot marine! OOOORAH! And he is the best at his job! I love him and he is my Edward Cullen. : )**

**Thanks so much for all the reviews and favorite story/author adds, you guys made this so much better than I thought it would be. I want to write another story, but I am going to wait until I get a good inspiration like I did this one, not just write for the sake of writing. I might move on to Bones in the mean time, so check back! THANK YOU! ~Jodi**


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